Final Thoughts

After my time reflecting on different nature experiences, I am so glad I chose to do this project. I definitely am an anxious person, and I greatly feel it when I am inside my house not doing anything for an extended period of the day.  

Cadboro Bay in the sun

I really enjoyed using time in nature as a source of stress release. Since moving to Victoria, I’ve been looking for opportunities to explore more local nature and hiking areas on the island. I am glad I finally pushed myself out of my comfort zone to do so, espeically going alone.  

This semester I have been putting a big focus on on my mental and physical health, actually taking the time to create a gym routine and dedicated time to taking care of my mental health. However, I am still not great at balancing my workload ahead of time and being able to “lock in” on work, which will be my focus for next semester. 

Sooke Regional Park (My favourite walk by far!)

I found instant stress and anxiety relief when I was in nature, feeling balenced with the stress of life and my emotional health. It was a grounding experience, and I am so lucky to live somewhere so beautiful to do this. 

Averages on recorded scores throughout the semester 

Activity Scores 

89.4 

Steps 

10,809.8 

Sleep 

76 

Readiness 

78.83 

Having access to these reading on my body has definitely made me more mindful of how I live my life. I focus lots on my step count throughout the day, trying to reach a minimum of 10,000 steps a day, as well as going to the gym 3 times a week to become the best version of myself I can. I like the satisfaction of getting a high activity score, even if it’s just from daily movement. However, I still definitley need to work on my sleep score. I definitley find it difficult to fit school, homework, being active, having a social life, having needed downtime, and sleep into one big schedule, and often my sleep takes the cut of the time. When the semester is done, I will definitley prioritize fixing my sleep schedule, trying to stay consistnet with times I wake up and fall asleep. This will be important to set up a good practicum, as I will have my first experience of balencing a work life schedule as a teacher. The readiness score is created off of all of these different aspects of the ring. Since my sleep is low, it lessens my readiness score when I wake up, and I feel it most days.  

In relation to my teaching 

Seeing how nature walks can affect my mental and physical health, I think it is a great idea to incorporate nature into the classroom. I started off each reflection with land acknowledgment, tying into the Social Studies curriculum. As an Indigenous person, it is important for me as a future educator to include Indigenous content into my lessons as much as I can. As my reserve is an Ojibway reserve and I grew up in Treaty 4 territory, it is important for me to learn and acknowledge local culture as much as I can. After seeing how well activity levels and sleep can change how set ready I will be for the next day, it provides importance for students to make sure to stay active and have a balanced sleep schedule. Being in nature is a grounding method, and helps balance your mental state, finding instant stress release. It creates mindfullness and a stress relieving practice, which is something I also plan on implementing in my classroom.  

Saskatchewan (my home) in the summer!