Nature inspires creativity, however with the advancement of technology and increased urbanization, there is an increasing dissociation between humans and the environment. Most children in the UAE today prefer to live, learn, and play indoors.

It is thus a sad reality that a generation of children today have been raised completely in the indoors within restricted and confined spaces. It is unfortunate that although they may be well aware of global environmental threats they lack any kind of tangible contact with it. The only experiential learning they have had is through the television and computer consoles.

Field Trips bridge this gap and become the link between children and the environment.

During field trips, children are exposed to powerful learning opportunities, as they get to interact directly with the environment and understand why they need to care for it.

For field trips, SSI requires registered schools to conduct any outdoor educational experience with an environmental objective. Any type of environmentally- focused visit, such a visit to the zoo, desalination plant, an eco-habitat, or even a city park can be reported.

A field guide manual is available for download from the website once the school’s registration is complete which includes a list of places that the school could take their students to, the manual highlights different kinds of field activities and surveys that students can undertake in different habitats. The manual also serves as a guide for the identification of flora and fauna across various habitats.

Guided field trips would be offered to registered schools from October to March each year. Schools will receive an email with dates and details of all the available field trips.

The Field trip component to be implemented through the following steps:

• Secure the Outdoor education Manuel for your school.
• Teachers attend the online training courses through  e-GREEN. To understand the policies and strategies of field trips.
• The school principal announces about the field trips through teachers meeting or in during students classes.
• Planning for field trip by selecting the suggested activities in the field trip guide ,as well as the targeted places taking into consideration the remarks of going on a field trip.
• Upload the field trip report on the system, and prepare a report attaching all evidence related to the implementation mechanism and results.

Schools will have to report on:

• Number of students taken out on field trips.
• Whether the field trips were integrated into the curriculum, if so how?
• Upload a report not exceeding 5-10 pages with photographs that best describes your students field experience.
• Teachers/ field educators should report on the behaviour and discipline of students during the field trips especially pertaining to littering and sensitive behaviour to life forms.

Abu Dhabi is equal parts glittering modern architecture and rustic natural beauty – and it is full of life.

You can see the places to go here