LEARNING NATURE NATURALLY
            Much of what we have to pass on to future generations must be taught in a formal way – there is way too much to learn to leave it to experience alone. As school starts again and parents and community focus on education in a school setting, we need to be reminded that some things children need to learn can’t be found in a classroom.    Appreciating nature and learning to respect and care for our environment is best learned when children can experience nature by exploring their neighborhoods and parks and natural areas. Parents, grandparents, relatives, and caring adults can provide safe places for children, regardless of age, to be free to explore, observe, and care about nature.          Adults around them can provide examples from which children learn how to care about the environment.
            “Spending time outdoors is important for kids! Getting outside and enjoying nature helps children reduce stress, and keeps them healthy,” explains the Chicago Park District in a booklet, “Nature in the City”. The booklet suggests some ideas for ways parents can have fun with children outdoors:

• Give your children unstructured time outside – kids are naturally attracted to water, sand, rocks, and mud.
• Let your children take the lead – with their natural curiosity kids will quickly find something for the family to explore.
• Play games to encourage looking – try guessing what the other sees by asking questions and giving clues.
• Enjoy nature in your neighborhood – look for birds and insects, examine the parts of a tree, look for sediment and particles deposited by water after a rain, feels things, look through a cardboard tube, etc.
• Hold a scavenger hunt in your yard, neighborhood, park, or natural area – make a list of things you see or check off things you see from a prepared list.
• Direct your children’s attention and join their fun – listen for birds and other natural sounds, smell the flowers, or feel the wind.
• Don’t be afraid of not knowing the answers – you don’t have to know everything about plants and animals to help children enjoy them; half the fun is asking questions and building a sense of curiosity and wonder.

            Thanks to our Stephenson County Park Districts for having the foresight to maintain some great parks and natural areas so that residents can have experiences with nature. In every excursion into a natural area, children and adults will find new things to observe and learn about.
If you feel connected to your outdoor environment and reflect on how that came to be, you probably will find that in your younger years you got to explore nature on your own. You observed, questioned, and wondered why. Take the time to help some child learn about nature naturally.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 9/1/10/10 (for publication on 09/04/10 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org