L'oeil de lynx: Why teach students about the outdoors?

*A specialist in apparatus gymnastics and yoga, and a keen runner, Charlotte Blot is **a PE teacher at Lille**. She teaches the art of outdoor sports, "with the means at hand". Convinced that contact with nature stimulates our physical and mental health, she explains the place of outdoor activities in the school and their benefits for teenagers.*

**Charlotte Blot**: I'm currently a PE teacher at a secondary school in Lille, after having worked as a yoga teacher in a company. Originally, my sporting background was more acrobatic and artistic, as I did\*\* 15 years of apparatus gymnastics\*\*. After graduating in STAPS, I taught PE in Paris. Then, in my thirties, I felt the need for gentler activities, more focused on well-being. So I trained in wellness activities such as yoga, for both children and adults. I worked as a corporate yoga teacher for several years, before moving back to Lille to be with my students again!

**Charlotte**: I'm a great believer in the virtues of the outdoors. I've seen the benefits for myself, but I've also read in numerous **neuroscience studies**, recently, that being in contact with nature [improves a child's cerebral and psychic development](<https://www.cerveauetpsycho.fr/sd/developpement-enfant/comment-la-nature-nourrit-le-cerveau-des-enfants-16802.php>), including memory, language learning, reading, writing, or even **reasoning**. More and more teachers are initiating their pupils to the outdoors, including some teachers of other disciplines, who find that the outdoor classroom works superbly well! But unfortunately, we are not all equal in this respect. Schools in mountainous, rural areas obviously have easier access. Personally, I teach at a secondary school in a relatively working-class district of Lille. So I use whatever means I can get my hands on, because I firmly believe that sport should be **accessible to everyone**, regardless of their **level of sport** and their **financial means**. For these reasons, I use **orienteering** a lot. It's an exercise I really enjoy, because it allows students to get out of the school or gym easily, and into the forest. The aim is to **test their orientation and reference skills**, in town or elsewhere. It also makes them responsible and independent, and develops team spirit. These skills are indispensable throughout our lives.

\*\*Charlotte \*\*: What I like about climbing is the \*\*risk taking \*\*. I think that in the course of our lives, we'll always be faced with **difficult choices**, periods of doubt or stress. I find that climbing helps us to better manage the stress associated with risk-taking. Students tend to stay in their **comfort zone**, doing routes of which they know the level of difficulty. My aim is to **help them climb higher and higher, right up to the fall**... It's a great value that can be taught. Climbing also helps **to build confidence in others**. You have to trust your belayer and your back-up belayer. In short, we must never forget that sport not only teaches motor skills, but also and above all **social and methodological skills**. And clearly, these will serve them well for the rest of their lives.

**Charlotte**: Yes, for the past two years, we've been teaching *"savoir-rouler"*, which invites pupils to\*\* learn to ride a bike\*\*. I find this very interesting because, in town, in the mountains, in the countryside, the*bike is becoming more and more popular*\* and it can also be risky at times. It's important to master this practice, because many of our students aren't lucky enough to have a bike at home. With this skill, they can potentially get around their homes or go for a ride at the weekend.

**Charlotte**: I realize every day that young people aren't necessarily aware of everything that's out there. I think we need to communicate more \*\*about the benefits and accessibility of outdoor activities. By using the networks favored by this generation, such as **Tiktok**. We also need to organize **initiation days**. I'm thinking, for example, of**rowing**. Bringing them along for a day is a great way to give them **a taste of this experience**. And on the spot, it's an opportunity to talk about all the other water sports, such as canoeing, kayaking and paddling, which can sometimes be found in the same place, in the\*\* nautical bases.\*\*.

**Charlotte**: Go to nature areas close to home, as often as possible. On weekends, on vacation. A picnic in the park, playing games in the great outdoors, exploring what's going on around the house, that's an adventure in itself. You can also try out**climbing**, there are climbing centres everywhere, including in urban areas, and now, thanks to the venues, there are preferential rates for children or people on low incomes. Above all, the most **important**: get your children out! As I said earlier, scientific studies have shown that it's by being exposed to the outdoors a lot that we develop our neurons... If you see them chatting with their buddies, suggest they join you for a canyoning course, rent a surfboard, just go for a walk.