By Shin Ee (Coach, Earth and Stars Forest School)
As a forest school coach and practitioner, the impact of my work does not show up immediately. Unlike other forms of enrichment or extracurriculars, we cannot receive measurable outcomes from the children such as an improvement in a child’s grades by 25%, or seeing them top the level in Mathematics. Forest School, with its focus on unstructured play, leaning on nature as the teacher and curricula, would seem like meaningless time spent in the forest for “nothing”. It takes anywhere from ten to a hundred years for a tree to reach maturity, from seedling to sprout to tall forest giants. Just like the trees, children themselves take time to immerse, experience and grow through a deep connection and relationship with nature in forest school. One day, they are shrieking at the thought of stepping into muddy soil, but before you know it, the same children who used to shriek are now carefully guiding their peers through the same muddy soil, with patience, kindness and understanding. As a coach, you hardly notice the growth since it happens so gradually.
However, the recently slated deforestation of Clementi forest, as well as the ensuing reaction from the children allowed me to see the impact of forest school on the children with my own eyes. My first thought when I heard the news was of the children. What would they think? How would they feel? Clementi forest was such a dear place to us. When we brought up the issue during the session, I was beyond touched by the children. On a large sheet of paper, the children drew, wrote and expressed how they felt about the deforestation. Wendi drew a bird crying on the tree. Lara wrote about the impact of losing the forest on the plants and animals. And even Evan, who usually spoke little in session, wrote “I like Forest” with such force and conviction! I was already moved, and I thought that their passion for Clementi Forest would stop there.
Little did I know, the matter weighed heavily on their minds. Lara, Lydia and Lindi, three sisters, asked their mother about Clementi Forest almost everyday. Their passion and concern for the forest was very clear, until their mother, Fiona, decided to bring them to meet their MP, Edwin Tong. Lara rushed to complete her homework so that she could draft a letter to the minister. She wrote three drafts in total, and brought the letter to the meet-the-people’s session to show the minister. The voice of the children is so powerful because children speak without pretense, and as such, they are able to be the earnest and heartfelt messengers of humanity. In her letter, Lara wrote: “My wish is for the authorities to conserve Clementi forest so that the future children like me can experience going into the forest”. Her sincerity and conviction was so touching that the children were featured on Minister Edwin Tong’s Instagram, and also on various news sites. People started to listen to the children, amazed that such young voices also wanted to play a part in the ongoing discussion about the forests.
I feel very proud of the children of Earth and Stars. Not only did they self-initiate the conversation with the MP, they took the time to carefully think about what they wanted to say to convince the decision makers and politicians. The other children of Earth and Stars also supported in their own way, showing up for their friends when we went as a group to meet with Melissa Low, the NUS researcher who had been fiercely advocating for Gillman Forest. They showed up for their friends. I feel very proud of my children because they chose to speak up, when they could have just as easily remained silent. The time spent in the forest, the space they had to express themselves amongst the trees and the mud and the drongos, gave them so much perspective and understanding of our world that they dared to speak up.
I believe in uplifting the voices of children. So often do we go about making decisions on their behalf; including the deforestation of forests to build homes, which is supposed to meet the demand of housing for our future generations. But when these decisions are made, whose perspective do they take on? And which perspectives are left out?
I say that we need to listen to our children. Now, more than ever, we need to follow the lead of our children, who will soon inherit the earth, who speak for and with the earth with love and connection. By spending so much time with the children, I myself have become empowered and inspired to use my own voice. It is my hope that others too can look towards our children as a voice and a source of hope for the world we live in.
Thank you to the children of forest school and to Clementi Forest, for bringing me to a space between the earth and the stars.
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