NatureAware Fim reaches Alaska!

Our Nature Aware Project short film has travelled to connect with autistic community in Alaska

You may remember that as part of our NatureAware project, participants co-created an amazing short film exploring autistic joy and connection to nature.

One of our SWAN Trustees shared the film with her international online unschooling network, and we did a little dance of autistic joy when we received this beautiful email all the way from Alaska - letting us know how far the film has travelled and the impact it is having on our autistic siblings around the world!

“Greetings from Alaska!

I wanted to thank you for the creation of the SWAN NatureAware Impact Film.

I’m a member of Weave ND, an international online unschooling community for Neurodiverse families and one of our members shared the film with us.

As a late diagnosed Autistic, what the SWAN film meant for me was a deep recognition of my childhood feelings of nature connection, particularly to pollution of the earth and harm to animals.

I never thought about these nature connections as part of my Autistic experience. But when I saw the film I knew they were. It was a vulnerable realization.

My profound earth and animal empathy was not supported by my family and community of origin growing up. I was mocked for caring about the reduce/reuse/recycle processes, for not wanting to eat farmed meat, and for enjoying my own company outside or reading alone more than being inside at parties and events.

I’m turning 42 this month, and I’m just coming back to the values of my childhood as I parent my own babies.

Another activity I’m returning to is writing and I just made the leap to starting my own Substack as Autistic Alaskan. I was wondering if I may share the SWAN film there?

Thanks for considering. I hope you’re having a spacious and relaxing day.”

Autistic Community and Nature Connection

That realisation that our connection to nature is so integral to our autistic experience and identities was a key aspect of theNatureAware project - and many of the participants also shared that we’d felt it was something we had to hide or minimise, or was another aspect of us not fitting in with those around us. 

It’s so powerful and liberating to share that with other autistics and be able to embrace and celebrate it - and we are so happy to know the film has been shared so far away for others to see.

Autistic community connection all the way from Scotland to Alaska!

Though so far away and different in size, nature connects Scotland and Alaska in many ways - birch, willow and spruce trees; fireweed (rosebay willowherb to you and me) harebells and mosses; red squirrels, deer and otters; not to mention beautiful mountains, rivers and lochs. 

If you'd like to find out more about what life is like for an autistic Alaskan, you can follow their new writing endeavours, knowing they were helped along in some small way by autistic Scots: Autistic Alaskan on Substack

Do look up Weave ND you'd like to find out more about their international community for neurodivergent unschooling families, they are currently open for new members. They are open to all parents and carers of ND children and young people, but you'll not be surprised to learn that means many of them also identify as neurodivergent! 

And you can watch the NatureAware film (again!) here. 

Thank you Autistic Alaskan for reaching out and bringing us autistic joy!