The Centre for the Study of Natural Design
This study, in collaboration with Scottish Outdoor Education Centres (SOEC), is one of a small portfolio of design research studies from the Centre for the Study of Natural Design, University of Dundee on the theme of ‘Nature’s Academy’. This research is concerned with the exploration of children’s early play and learning experiences in outdoor education which are especially relevant to the notion of sustainability. This analysis explores the possibility of deeper underlying learning in outdoor education which would be appropriate to governmental concerns for confidence building, social learning and citizenship. The aim is to understand these deeper motivations and to design new programmes and activities which would support and extend learning in these areas without destroying the child’s enjoyment, exploration or play.
The Centre for the Study of Natural Design emerged in 2002 as a platform for highly motivated post-graduate students, from any discipline, to challenge existing design perspectives, motivations and practices and to actively debate and construct a way forward for the 21st Century consistent with the new, emerging, alternative worldviews. Our current research ranges from theory to practice and from small designs (jewellery) to large design (architecture and landscape). It finds synonymy with holistic science, the sciences of complexity, earth system science and ecological systems theories – it learns from and integrates with the processes of nature. It considers design in its widest sense and embraces the arts, humanities and sciences in its pursuit of new dimensions to act positively in a participatory universe.
Prof. Seaton Baxter’s (Supervisor) theoretical and philosophical interest is in living systems design, especially the notions of evolution, chaos and complexity and their influence in the general field of design. In practical issues he is particularly interested in rural environment.
