Fostering Learning In and Through the Beaver Hills Biosphere

According to the Network of European museum organizations (2021), learning “is no longer [seen as] a transfer of knowledge but a process of building individual social identity, according to personal learning style and with the use of new emotional and exciting languages that enhance well-being, intercultural dialogue and social cohesion.”

Learning is connected to everything and it is ever occurring. Many of us feel confident about what learning looks like. The term conjures visions of individuals sitting in formation before a dynamic and knowledgeable facilitator. Their eyes glued to the speaker, they soak in information and fill their minds with knowledge. Sometimes learning can look like this.

But learning can also look like friends journeying into the forest together, educators meeting to discuss their visions for the future or children balancing on fallen logs as they make their way to an open field for a game of tag. These learning moments build connections and bring people to new places of understanding and curiosity about the world around them and their role in it. This breadth of opportunity for learning is what we want to foster with learning opportunities in and through the Beaver Hills Biosphere.

The Beaver Hills Biosphere continues to work on a five-year vision for learning. The plan under development is a collection of research, conversations and program prototypes designed to act as a roadmap for the Biosphere team. It considers the multitude of ways that people learn and outlines the incredible potential of ongoing work towards a diverse, authentic, accessible and sustainable learning offer.

Have questions, want to learn more about the work underway? Contact Tara Beck.