The Art of Storytelling To Inspire Deep Nature Connection

ReWilding Conversations Podcast: Episode 03

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The Art of Storytelling Gets People Engaged With Nature…

Often when you hear the word “storytelling” you might get an image of people sitting in a circle with a really formal “story-time” being shared.

But there are other types of stories where it’s a bit more casual and below the surface.

This would be like a personal story of some moment when you encountered a wild animal… or a crazy winter camping trip when the ocean froze over while you were sleeping.

Here’s the key: Anytime you talk about something that happened outside in nature… the people listening HAVE TO imagine birds, plants, trees, weather, and animals inside their own mind’s eye!

This is a really important tool that we have as mentors to help guide the focus and take our students to places in their mind that they wouldn’t normally go on their own.

As a budding nature mentor, you can use these different types of stories to help people in your life connect with nature.

If you want to help kids open their senses in nature you could say,

“Hey, pay attention!”

Or you could tell them a really descriptive story about a Robin hunting for worms on the lawn… listening carefully for the slightest movement of prey, carefully stalking along and being so quiet…

…And that story would totally stick with those kids to start the process of transforming how they pay attention with their senses to nature and birds!

That’s the power of a really good story.

If you want to use stories to inspire people on their nature connection journey, check out today’s Re-Wilding conversations podcast.

Today’s conversation is packed with ideas, insights and examples of storytelling in action.
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Here’s some of what we talked about…

Three Ways Of Using Story To Teach:

1. Telling your own stories
2. Mythological stories (animals as characters)
3. Harvesting the stories of your students (mentoring)

​(The difference between formal and informal storytelling)

Tips For Better Storytelling:

1. Painting a picture with words
2. Have a beginning, middle and end
3. Expand the definition of what it means to tell stories
4. Practice! Just start doing it and you’ll get better.

Storytelling Examples:

1. Dave’s Winter Squirrel Discovery
2. Brian’s Backyard Barred Owls
3. The American Robin: One of Nature’s Best Stalkers

I mentioned the crows alarming at a Barred Owl – Here’s the video

If you’d like to get better at telling your personal nature stories I’d like to recommend the nature memory journal program…