Would you trust living in a house designed by a dog? Hypotheses and reflections on the concept of 'den’

The poster describes an educational experience involving fourth-grade students exploring the concept of ‘den’ through direct observation, exploration, and reflective discussions. As part of the BEAT research group’s initiatives within the NBFC project, two fourth-grade classrooms from Istituto Comprensivo Pertini in Milano have been participating, since November 2024, in weekly explorations of urban green areas - specifically Parco Nord and Vivaio Bicocca. The applied methodology is experiential, reflective, and dialogical, aiming at helping children to engage deeply with elements of biodiversity in outdoor contexts. In particular, class IV A focused around the element ‘den’, after observing a bramble bush in Parco Nord: one child described it as a den “because the trunk formed a roof, two branches acted like a door,[...], filled with leaves, seemed large enough for a fox”. This observation sparked interest among the group and led to extended reflections. In the weeks, children continued their investigations in the Vivaio, posing increasingly complex questions: What makes a space a den? Can it be man-made? Is it safe? They compared animal-built shelters with human-constructed ones, like birdhouses, and reflected on the idea of trust and suitability, wondering: “would you trust living in a house designed by a dog?”. Others are assuming that a den is not just a physical structure but a personal and contextual space, inferring that potentially any place offering safety and comfort could be a den. highlighting how, from their point of view, all the elements of a context are in deep connection with each other.