What Does “Returning to Nature” Really Mean for Chinese Children? – Food Talk Vol. 13
“Cooped up” during the pandemic, people have been yearning to get close to nature. On the fringes of our cities, picnicking, camping and nature education are growing ever more popular. In a world of constant change, are “the land” and “nature” simply a passing fad for Chinese families and their children today, or a genuine return to what is simple and true?
During the pandemic, something as everyday as cooking—which had long been “outsourced”—has found its way back into people’s lives. Children don’t know where the food on their plates comes from; they only know it was bought from a shop. Can nature education help children understand their food? And what interesting things happen as children experience the process of growing and cooking?
Guest of This Episode
Ma Lan
Her nature name is “Fireweed”; she heads the Forest Kindergarten at Friends of Nature Gaia Nature School. Since 2014, she has created parent-child, weekend and experiential Forest Kindergarten programmes. She is a Nature Experience Facilitator, a Leave No Trace Trainer and a Training Instructor for the China Nature Education Network. Parents say she “has even more fun than the children”, fellow guides call her a ray of sunshine, and she describes herself as a rather shy little thing.
Host of This Episode
Xiaojing
A newcomer to food and agriculture, still hard at work learning about food and biodiversity. Mum to two little ones. After being a grown-up for far too long, the curious discovery: no matter where you go, what children love most is still playing in the sand and crunching through fallen leaves.
Timeline
01:42 From “Ma Lan” to “Willow Basket” to “Fireweed”—let’s start by choosing a “nature name”
07:18 What is nature education? If the park is free, why charge money?
07:51 Do city children naturally love “nature”? “Children who absolutely adore bugs and those who absolutely hate them are both in the minority”—what nature education can reach is the large group in between
10:33 Does “super first-tier city” Beijing have nature? Does experiencing nature education always mean a two-hour drive? Do children raised in the city have no life? What exactly can nature education give children?
15:32 Nature education courses mean cooking your own food—what if it tastes terrible? A child who won’t touch vegetables at home actually finishes every last one they grew themselves
19:53 Not just piecemeal “picking” sessions—a year on the farm starts with loosening the soil and experiencing the “whole process”
24:58 Plant three seeds, honouring heaven, earth and humanity—and I take only one
32:06 Do children complain? In a group, children inspire and imitate one another, which helps them truly express themselves—perhaps the very thing children of the online-lessons era need most
41:09 Is nature education about “tasting hardship so you can appreciate the sweetness of learning”?
43:23 Through nature education we discover: can modern people survive without the internet? Where does our sense of security truly come from?
44:28 Expanding the comfort zone, embracing imperfection
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Podcast Creative Team
Planning and Production: Xiaojing
Podcast Cover Art: Wan Lin
Music: Banong
Article Editor: Wang Hao
Contact: xiaojing@foodthink.cn