Rewilding Education: How We’re Doing It—and Why It’s Working

At WILDE School, we’re not reforming education—we’re replanting it. Imagine a school that doesn’t just teach students to think; it teaches them to grow—stronger, smarter, happier and more resilient.

That’s the promise of Permacognitive Education: a living system that transforms how students learn, how teachers teach, and how communities flourish. We believe education should mirror ecosystems, not machines. Growth isn’t linear—it’s living. And every child carries a blueprint for brilliance—if the conditions are right. Our work is to create those conditions for each learner through a simple cycle of Observe →Design → Implement → Adapt.

In this model, the teacher becomes a co-gardener—alongside families—a co-designer who evokes curiosity, tends attention,and fans a spark of interest into sustainable, lifelong learning. It isn’t about a single end goal; it’s about recognizing and walking a purposeful path, season by season, project by project.

From Factory Model to Forest Mindset

Most schools still run on a 19th-century industrial framework—bells, boxes, behaviour charts—top-down input to output - designed for obedience, not flourishing. But the world has changed: climate instability, screen saturation,youth mental-health crises, rapid AI disruption.

Our children don’t need more rote memorization; they need ecological intelligence.

That’s why WILDE is designed like a living system—fluid, resilient, responsive. We grow whole humans who can adapt, co-regulate, think systemically, and lead with purpose. We teach the Observe→ Design → Implement → Adapt cycle so learners can navigate complexity and build solutions that care for self, community, and planet. We help them find a purposeful path, aligning passion with stewardship, so they can live sustainable, healthy, joyful lives.

What Is Permacognitive Education?

Permacognitive Education is inspired by permaculture—regenerative, place-rooted design. If permaculture grows healthy soil, permacognition grows healthy minds. Both require intention, observation, and deep respect for natural systems. It is a lens of optimizing environments to suit the individual learner.  And nature, we’ve learned is the optimum environment for human development.

We’ve translated this wisdom into pedagogy that integrates cognitive, emotional, physical, and relational growth—because students aren’t machines to be programmed; they’re organisms to be nurtured.

The Permacognitive Cycle

Observe what the system needs (learners, peers, place).
Design a small, testable response.
Implement it in the real world—on the land, with real users.
Adapt based on evidence and reflection—keep what works; change what doesn’t.

This cycle runs through academics, leadership, and community stewardship, helping learners build durable habits of attention, creativity, and care.

Grounded in Science, Guided by Nature

·       Neuroscience shows learning is multi sensory, embodied, and context-dependent.

·       Ecopsychology finds nature-based education improves attention, memory, creativity, and emotional regulation.

·       Polyvagal - informed practice reminds us nervous-system safety is foundational for engagement and growth.

·       Permaculture design gives us a blueprint for systems that regenerate rather than deplete.

When students learn in ways that are calm, connected, and outdoors, attention improves, stress lowers, and learning sticks. Translation? Smarter, healthier, happier kids.

The 7 Principles of Permacognitive Education (Alive in Daily Practice)

1.     CognitiveEcology – Thinking emerges in relationship with place, tools, and people.
→ Forests as classrooms; classrooms as ecosystems.

2.     Curriculum as Living Design – We don’t “deliver” curriculum; we grow it.
→ Snowfall becomes a fractal math inquiry; a question becomes a unit.

3.     RegenerativePlace-Based Learning – Students don’t just learn in nature—they restore it.
→ Pollinator gardens, watershed mapping, soil checks.

4.     EmbodiedResilience – Emotions are data, not detours.
→ Breath work, grounding, and body awareness alongside reading andscience.

5.     SystemsThinking – Students see patterns and feedback loops.
→ A food unit touches climate, equity, culture, economics.

6.     TimeAwareness – Nature doesn’t rush; we honor cycles and timing.
→ Seasonal rhythms over rigid deadlines.

7.     InnerSustainability – Success isn’t a grade; it’s a compass.
→ Each learner builds a reflective plan aligned to strengths and values.

We’re Not Preparing Kids for the World. We’re Equipping Them to Regenerate It.

Our students don’t just memorize sustainability; they practice it—on the land, in their bodies, and in their communities. They lead stewardship projects, track nervous-system states, mentor younger students, and launch campaigns that matter.

They are resilient, not rigid.
Curious, not compliant.
Prepared for life, not just tests.

A New Kind of Leadership

At WILDE, leadership isn’t a position—it’s a way of being. Our Permacognitive Leadership approach threads emotional intelligence, somatic awareness, and ecological fluency through real-world projects. Students hike, interview elders, sleep under stars, and co-design solutions with partners. The world doesn’t need more empire-managers; it needs bridge-builders, ecosystem stewards, and visionaries.

What Happens When You Teach This Way?

·       Students once disengaged show up eager, curious, and energized—ready to build, explore, and connect in a place that feels like it was made for them.

·       Learners who struggled with self-regulation now teach breath work to peers.

·       Students with anxiety find calm in land-based learning—and voice in public showcases.

Most importantly, they’re becoming themselves—confident, grounded, purposeful.

Research Snapshot (for the curious)

·       Nature& learning: Integrative review finds nature experiences boost academic learning and engagement via attention restoration and stress reduction (Kuo, Barnes, & Jordan, 2019).

·       School green space & cognition: Longitudinal study links greener schools with improved working memory and reduced inattentiveness (Dadv and et al., 2015).

·       Mental health & resilience: Systematic review shows immersive nature experiences support mental, physical, and social health for children and youth (Mygind et al., 2019).

·       Leadership& agency: Meta-analysis of outdoor/adventure education reports meaningful gains in self-concept, leadership, and interpersonal skills, often growing over time (Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997).

Final Word: The Seeds Are Already Here

If you’ve read this far, maybe you feel it too:
The old system isn’t enough.
And your child, your students, your self—they deserve better.
Permacognitive Education isn’t a tweak.
It’s a transformation.
We’re not planting answers.
We’re cultivating the conditions for lifelong flourishing.
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Come walk the trail with us.

Onwards!

Bibliography

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Dadvand, P., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Esnaola, M., Forns, J., Basagaña, X.,Alvarez-Pedrerol, M., … Sunyer, J. (2015). Green spaces and cognitive development in primary schoolchildren. Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences, 112(26), 7937–7942. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503402112

Dankiw, K. A., Tsiros, M. D., Baldock, K. L., & Kumar, S. (2020). The impacts of unstructured nature play on health in early childhood development: Asystematic review. PLOS ONE, 15(2), e0229006. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229006

Hattie, J., Marsh, H. W., Neill, J. T., & Richards, G. E. (1997).Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research,67(1), 43–87. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543067001043

Holmgren, D. (2002). Permaculture: Principles and PathwaysBeyond Sustainability. Holmgren Design Services.

Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. MilkweedEditions.

Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do experiences with nature promote learning? Converging evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 305. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305

Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods: Saving OurChildren from Nature-Deficit Disorder. Algonquin Books.

Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in Systems: A Primer.Chelsea Green Publishing.

Mygind, L., Kurtzhals, M., Nowell, C., Melby, P. S., Stevenson, M. P., Roed,J., … Bentsen, P. (2019). Mental, physical and social health benefits of immersive nature-experience for children and adolescents: A systematic reviewand quality assessment. Health & Place, 58,102276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.014

Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: NeurophysiologicalFoundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation.W. W. Norton.

Sobel, D. (2004). Place-Based Education: ConnectingClassrooms & Communities. The Orion Society.

van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.

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