Canada/Nuna Program: The Land as a Classroom

Nanook Elementary School in Apex, near Iqaluit, has been offering a unique program in Nunavut for several years: rain or shine, the students have the land as their classroom. The curriculum is rooted in Inuit culture, language and traditions.

It's a sunny Friday in November, and the bell has just rung, announcing to the 56 students in kindergarten through fifth grade that it's time to get outside.

Bundled up in their parka, many are busy cutting up snow blocks in front of Nanook School. Further on, some children carry the snow pieces in small sleds, while others pile them on top of each other to form an igloo.

Nuna program initiator Maggie Kuniliusie teaches first and second grade. Blizzards, high winds or extreme cold are some of the only conditions that usually prevent the group from spending time outside. The weather is boss, she says with a laugh.

"When we find that the weather conditions have improved [...] it's time to go outside!"

- A quote from teacher Maggie Kuniliusie

The teacher says that after several hours in the fresh air, her students are more clear-headed and willing to return to their classrooms for the rest of the day.

In Inuktitut, nuna refers to the land. The program is aptly named, as students use their environment to understand the world and shape their identity.

They learn to count rocks and snow blocks, build igloos and meditate on the tundra, while developing a sense of responsibility and teamwork.

We encourage teamwork because conditions outside can change quickly," explains Maggie Kuniliusie. The program promotes a buddy system where older students support their younger peers.

When we are outside, we learn to be aware of our environment because there are many animals," says 10-year-old Ramata Kalluk.

I think we feel very connected to the land and to nature," says the fifth-grader.

Her mother, Celina Kalluk, sees many benefits to the program, including learning Inuktitut, a dialect of the Inuit language. The land-based education program is very positive culturally, because as an Inuk, it allows you to develop a vocabulary that can only be learned by exploring the land and spending time with elders," she says.

Elisapee Flaherty, one of the language specialists at Nanook School, says Inuktitut plays a central role in the program. When we're outside, we speak our native language, and the kids are encouraged to do that too," she says.

The Nuna program is the only territory-based training offered in Nunavut. While this type of training is gaining popularity across the country, it has not always been the norm in the territory, due to the colonial education system imposed over several decades.

Many people were sent to residential schools, which disrupted the family unit and the Inuit way of life," says Elisapee Flaherty. Life on the land was taken away from them.

The program makes sense today, as it provides a culturally appropriate approach. With more than 25 years of experience in the field, Maggie Kuniliusie believes the Nuna program would benefit from being taught in other Nunavut schools.

It does so much good for the minds of young people," she says.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca