Time in Nature. A research group for lecturers across UAL.

Thank you to Dr Heather Barnett for selecting me to join Time in Nature, a research group at UAL providing an opportunity to develop a new direction of work. Taking my existing workshop outdoors, Thinking Through Drawing in Nature was tested in the Autumn 2023 term from October to November. I presented my tests and findings, we met to capture how methods and ideas have migrated to different parts of University of the Arts London. This was an opportunity to share photos, processes and student feedback (thank you to my students for the interviews and generous thoughts).

A big thank you to Dr Heather Barnett, MA Art and Science at Central Saint Martins, UAL, who organised this opportunity working with the Academic Discourse & Action Learning Committee (UAL Climate & Environment Action Group). It was great to check-in and see what everyone had been up to this term. This was a funded opportunity which involved attending an outdoor training session, followed by the development and testing of learning experience within individual course curricula next term. The session explored: How natural resources can be brought into teaching and learning through multi-sensory exploration; How educational activities can consider learning in, with, and for nature; How multi-species perspectives can shift art and design thinking and expand environmental awareness; How observation, encounter and interpretation can enhance ideas of land pedagogy.

Step 1: Staff Development Day (29 June 2023) Participate in the staff development session in Regents Park introducing a range of activities, methods and considerations for exploring how learning experiences can observe, interpret and respond to natural spaces and the materials that we find there. Join the Climate Advocates for an afternoon developing learning experiences in/with/for nature across different art and design disciplines.

Step 2: Developing and testing methods across courses (October/November 2023) Following the workshop each participant is invited to adopt and adapt some methods to apply within their own teaching context during Autumn term, testing out ideas in different courses and disciplinary contexts (taking into account seasonal changes and daylight hours).

Step 3: Sharing and evaluating (provisional date Thursday 30 November 2023). Each participant is asked to share the processes and outcomes of the learning experience tested in a group discussion (1.5 hours – exact time to be confirmed).

The Time in Nature session is co-developed by Alejandro Martínez, Ilan Valdes, and Wing Hei Calesta Ng (UAL Climate Advocates) working with Heather Barnett (Pathway Leader MA Art and Science and co- director of the Living Systems Lab, CSM).

Time in Nature is a growing teaching resource developed by Heather Barnett working with the Academic Discourse & Action Learning Committee (Climate & Environment Action Group). The resource explores Time in Nature as pedagogic practice, to support the teaching and learning of art and design as climate, social and racial justice. The aim of the resource is to share good practice, map potential sites to learn from (with and for) nature and collate ideas and actions for situated learning across UAL disciplines.