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Bioempathy Bioinspiration 4 minutes · opener

What the trees are doing

Card 5 of 52

Put it on the board and read it out. Nothing to prepare.

A person with their eyes closed, holding onto the trunk of a tree

Illustration by RecipesforWellbeing.org, CC BY-NC 4.0

Open this drawing in the library

At this time of year, many trees are letting go of leaves that have reached the end of their season.

Look at a tree through the window, or bring to mind one you know, and spend a moment with it.

Ask yourself quietly if there is something small from this week you are ready to put down, perhaps a worry you no longer need to carry or a plan that has already changed.

You do not need an answer or to share anything. The question is enough for today.

That’s the practice.

Listen for Some students will use a real tree and others their imagination. Either is enough.

The skill of bioinspiration. Drawing wellbeing inspiration from Nature and life's processes.

What has Nature taught you about wellbeing? How might learning from life's principles inform how you live and lead?

Try the interactive practice on this skill

The skill of bioinspiration

Drawing wellbeing inspiration from Nature and life's processes.

Hear this skill read aloud
Read the whole postTry the interactive practiceReflect on this skill for yourself

Adapting it

Ages 13 to 15
Make it concrete: ask students to think of one small thing they would like to leave outside the classroom door today.
Ages 16 to 18
Link it to workload: has anything on their list already reached its end, ready to be crossed off or let go?

If you have longer

There is a full lesson on this skill, about 42 minutes.

What would a forest do?
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