Forest School Singapore will cease and close all the Operations & Programs on 5th NOV 2024. We have decided that it is time for FSS to end, as would a tree fall in the forest, at its end time. The following sharing will include the 3 main reasons behind our decision. We will also share how this process of a Good Death for FSS will be played out next year.
REASONS
GOAL : We are Obsolete…
When Forest School first began in Singapore through FSS, I asked myself, what do we want to achieve? My thoughts landed at, HAVING EVERY SINGLE CHILD IN SINGAPORE TO EXPERIENCE FOREST SCHOOL AT LEAST FOR A DAY. With that in mind, we endeavoured to decentralise and share our practice, knowledge and even secret as an open source, hoping that more people will find doing Forest School a viable and sought after option. From 2016 – 2019 Forest School grew from 1 to 9. From 2020 – 2022, the Forest School movement went mainstream, entering almost all International Schools and many preschools. There were also a lot more Nature-based education initiatives started throughout those years. There are now 70+ Forest School-ish initiatives across Singapore.
In the beginning, most for-public Nature-based and outdoor programs for children were only priced at a maximum of $10. We came out and stood at $40+ per session, and made it a weekly commitment. It was the first of its kind. But this move broke the ice for society. At this price, it became viable for more people to do it as a sustainable work that can feed themselves, than the old pricing ($10), which would only be possible as a voluntary or establishment funded program.
All these moves allowed the Forest School movement to grow till what it is today. Looking at the expanding industry and communities, we realise that we are now obsolete as a Forest School program and incubator. It is time to let go, and call time for us, because there are now plenty of advocates and champions of the movement. We are obsolete.
REALITY: The Value will never be…
In the beginning of 2023, as our classes population declined, I went on a journey of exploration and reflection to find out its root cause and what we can do to improve. The journey took me through Korea to Denmark and back to Singapore. I realise that as much as the Forest School and Outdoor Learning movement has grown, the value of Forest School will never be above the Academic/Results-focus programs of modern-urban society. It is not the fault of the people or system. It is our environment, our urban cinderblock environment. The mindset of people living in blocks and economics will never value Nature the way the indigenous people of the past or the people who live because of Nature. The close connection with Nature is built due to the daily interaction with Mother Nature. These people whose lives are so deeply intertwined with Nature, naturally understand the value she has. They understand the oneness of Nature, and the importance of spending time & interaction with Mother Nature, to our health, our mind and our developments. Those who are too far from her, will not feel the same.
In short, if it comes to choosing between Forest School or Mathematic enrichment, most urban folks will choose the latter. That is the reality that we are facing. We are not against urban and modern development (I won’t be writing here without them), but the reality is that as long as the modern economy and urban environment continue at the same mindset, the value of Forest School and in a way Nature, will never be…
In Nature, when a tree falls, it provides nutrients to the ecosystem, seeing the reality that we are facing. We choose to be that tree, instead of resisting the inevitable, we choose to see beyond the material and visible. We choose to close because we know the good death will bring nutrients to the greater society and movement, allowing the value to finally be, just as Mother Nature would cover our concrete building, so will the Forest School movement.
HUMAN: I choose to let go…
For the past 7 years, I have been carrying the burden-of-decision for Forest School Singapore, and indirectly leading the movement in Singapore supporting others through various challenges. I am tired.
There were many days where the burden and effects of the decisions brought much pain and suffering. The burden also brought joy and satisfaction. They come together. But all this work and commitment takes a toll on me.
I do enjoy my Forest School sessions with the children. I enjoy the deep conversations and connections I have with Parents and Coaches. I enjoy seeing lives changed and saved through the work we do. I enjoy seeing more Forest Schools starting across South East Asia. I enjoy seeing the FS ways practice across other faculties of the society.
But on the other end, I have to endure seeing the sufferings of our repressed children. I endure the mental wear of holding space for anxious parents and coaches. I endure the difficult feelings of people choosing Mathematics over FS. I endure the struggles of balancing the books, while staying true to the essence. I endure the public scrutiny and sometimes prosecution for fighting for the rights of our children, while taking care of the well being of the community.
As the Forest School movement grows and moves from the early adopters to the mass market, I know that this community can now continue on their own. It is time for me to step down from my leadership, and rest. It is time to focus on the Idea, the Forest School idea, the idea that we are Nature, the idea that everyone can do this.
With that, I choose to let go. Because I have faith in the heart of our children, parents, coaches and all who believe in the FS movement and idea. It will continue, hence I choose to let go… and rest.
“Remember the idea, not the man, cos the man can corrupt, the man can die, the man can fail. But a hundred years later, the idea can still change the world.”
V for Vendetta
CLOSURE PROCESS
Forest School Singapore will close on 5 NOV 2024.
• We will continue running our Weekly Forest School communities (Homnest, Sunbear, Bulbul, Squirrel) until 5 NOV 2024. We will support the community (parents & coaches) towards being independent from FSS as the year go along. Families and Coaches will grow and learn together.
• The last season of Holiday Camps will be in June 2024.
• We will freeze our Instagram and Facebook account on the 30 DEC 2023, so as to direct our energy to more meaningful communication on our emails/WA, our website, our Library and in-person, as we move towards a good death.
• On the 5 NOV 2024, we will cease the organise business unit of “Forest School Singapore” of Coach Darren LLP as an operating program.
• FSS will change into a non-profit research museum, where all our past stories, practices, work, management plans & challenges will be put into a digital “book” that everyone can access. It will become space that will inspire other future practitioners of Nature and allow others to find solidarity within.
Holding on tightly to knowledge, heritage or culture builds an exclusivity that distance the humans from their own experiences. Let go while receiving the essence of the story. Like a child would to a story book.
A wise advise from a Japanese Elder of the Mountains and Forest
水要流, 气要放
人要舍, 归回来
Flow with the Water
Small Step at a Time
Let go, move to death
Magic happens at empty
Written by: Darren Quek
Edited by: Zoe Xu & Shin Ee
(updated 3 Dec 2023)
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