When you’ve been teaching environmental education for as long as Patty Kolesnichenko has, you learn a thing or two. Like how exploring microscopic life in a water droplet fascinates young and old, connecting them to the intricate weaving of the universe. Or how students, now grown up, remember past outdoor experiences. Or how a cool bug can bond a new student with his peers.
Growing up in Toronto, Patty was lucky enough to attend an outdoor education school in which she experienced hiking, canoeing, identifying trees, studying insects and more.
“Being immersed in outdoor learning, I knew that this is what I wanted to do with my life,” reflects Patty. “I loved how I felt, what I was learning, and the way in which we were learning.”
That experience planted the seed for a lifelong passion. She worked as a teaching assistant at the same outdoor school she’d attended growing up, now learning alongside the instructors who had once guided her.
After earning her teaching degree, Patty taught outdoor education in Yellowknife then to Kimberley where she continues to share her passion for connecting kids to nature.
Ripple effects
Over the last 15 or so years, Patty has led a wide variety of Wildsight programs, from Winter Wonder to Classroom with Outdoors and Beyond Recycling for elementary students to Watershed Matters for secondary students.
Past students tell Patty those outdoor educational experiences were some of their best school memories. While some have gone on to pursue environmental careers, she says that’s not necessarily the goal — ultimately, it’s the small moments she hopes stay with them: the smell of a Ponderosa pine; the way a bat hunts for food; the feel of moss on a forest floor.
Her teaching philosophy is rooted in curiosity and discovery: “It’s not just about giving information. It’s about guiding students to find their own answers, and letting nature be the teacher.”
She sees the ripples of environmental education extend beyond the kids too. Parents will share with her what they learned from their child, or how the knowledge helped inspire change at home.
Nature as teacher
As the years have passed, one thing Patty has consistently seen is the unique ability that nature-based learning has to bring students peace.
“I’ll have teachers tell me, ‘I’ve never seen my class so calm’,” says Patty. “Being outside allows space for kids to shine in ways they might not in a regular classroom. Some students who struggle with academics suddenly find confidence. It’s a whole different kind of learning, and it’s beautiful to watch.”
That sense of belonging is something she sees happen again and again. One of Patty’s favourite memories is of an elementary school student who had recently moved to Canada and participated in one of her environmental education programs. The class was looking for macroinvertebrates in the local creek and this student found an enormous water beetle.
“He was so excited — showing everyone, learning what it was, how it moved,” she recalls. “It became this wonderful shared moment with his classmates. That discovery connected him to his new community in such a simple, yet powerful, way.”
After more than 15 years teaching environmental education, Patty still finds magic in the quiet, reflective moments often brought on by time in nature: students journaling beside a trickling creek; listening to the birds on a nature walk, or a typically-active kid just sitting calmly, absorbed in the wild around them.
After 15 years of working with Wildsight, Patty’s enthusiasm for the work hasn’t dimmed.
“Every group is different. And with the world changing so fast, teaching about water, climate and the land feels more important than ever. When we take kids outside and they fall in love with the land, they want to protect it. That’s what keeps me going.”
