In our interview with biologist and teacher Adrian Loo, a father of three, we asked the self-confessed nature lover about caring for the environment, how it benefits a family to cultivate a love for nature and establish an environmentally responsible approach to living.

Adrian Loo holds a doctorate in Botany and is married to Jennifer, a part-time teacher in an enrichment school. They have three children; Joshua, 9, Matthew, 7, and Leea, 3.

 

Enrich Your Lives

Adrian shared his belief that in every human being, there is an innate attraction to living things. He quoted Edward O. Wilson, who used the term biophilia (meaning, "love of life or living systems") in his Biophilia hypothesis. The hypothesis suggests, "human beings subconsciously seek (connections) with the rest of life."

Adrian also told us that one of the concerns for kids in a highly urbanised living space, is that most are not in touch with nature. What we need to realise is that our children might be missing out on a very important privilege. He added, "They don't get to play with dirt."

According to Adrian, kids have an intrinsic love for nature. When dads nurture this love and capitalise on the opportunities that arise out of encouraging their children to explore the natural world, they get to appreciate a low cost -yet effective- way to increase their quality of life.

For instance, Adrian's family takes trips to the beach to pick seashells and look at seashore critters. "A lot of incidental learning happens there, as nature is a very good classroom," said Adrian.

He feels that by giving our children exposure to the natural world, we are also gifting them with the enjoyment of their childhood. Some of his family's best memories were also of times spent in the great outdoors, "a most interesting trip was to Bintan, where we went to the pristine, natural beach, picking sand dollars and simply exploring."

 

The Best Educator

Adrian, who teaches at Raffles Institution, told us that when children engage with nature, they enter into a deep, impactful experience. This experience enables them to appreciate with clarity, issues such as habitat loss and the importance of biodiversity. More importantly, perhaps, is that children get to connect and commune with a world of wonder.

At his school, Adrian started a simple Biophilia Programme, which involves bringing his students to explore local nature areas. He said that his role during these trips was minimal, to "teach form and function", but continued, "the real teaching happens when I let nature's classroom do the teaching."

The opportunity he gives his students is to touch and feel nature -not just the plants and animals- but to be immersed in the surroundings. This forms a deep, persisting awareness in their young minds of the natural world that we live in and directly depend on.

 

What We will Leave for Our Children

"The environment is something that our children will inherit from us," shared Adrian. He told us that the most pressing environmental threat is the loss of habitat, and with it the loss of opportunities for our children to benefit from experiencing nature.

Dads should care, because "dads have a more important role to play than their (children's) schools.” Dads are also role models for their children, and Adrian gives the example of how he cut his consumption of his favorite bubble tea, once he realised how much plastic packaging went into the product.

His children learned from this, as they now show a strong sense of doing what is right for the environment. Adrian told us, "… they have a keen sense of justice, and sometimes they will remind me that we shouldn't be using plastics." His eldest son Joshua has also developed a love for living things and, "he loves to watch things grow."

Adrian sets his children thinking by refusing to kill insects in his home. His children have picked up an appreciation of the value of life and the diversity of living things. They have learnt to think about ethical issues such as the rights of living things, and to consider alternatives to killing unwelcome visitors in the home just because they are insects.

Besides building their social conscience, taking children to experience nature also builds relationships. In his experience, Adrian shared that he has seen students cope with stress at school and he can tell that, "students whose families have close relationships, can tide over the stresses and problems in school. When you see students struggling, you can somehow link it back to the family."

Building a relationship with nature, also builds your kids' relationship with you.

A dad for life, who connects kids to life. Have you given your kids a healthy dose of nature?

 

---

You can give your kids a gift of appreciating nature too!

Adrian's recommendations for Places to Go:

• Singapore’s beaches and reservoirs
• Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
• Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
• Pulau Ubin
• Bintan Island (for the beaches)

Further action:

Adrian recommends that for a more rewarding experience, nature-loving families can get involved in the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (see also the ICCS Facebook Page).

---

About the Author: The Dads for Life Resource Team comprises local content writers and experts, including psychologists, counsellors, educators and social service professionals, dedicated to developing useful resources for dads.

---

 

Back to Listing