Nature and Kids - Been There, Seen That?

Originally published 2/24/2011

For kids who don’t spend a lot of time exploring nature, the outdoors may be a place that they associate with a “been there, seen that” attitude. Some of the kids that I lead on field trips at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary will sigh with exasperation, “I’ve already walked on this trail. Can we go another way?”

When I ask them when they’ve been to Moose Hill in the past they often respond with a month or a season other than the one they are in at that moment. Do they think that they will have the same experience in May that they had in March of the previous year? If they went to Disney World, maybe; but nature is more than a scenic attraction.

Yesterday I saw wild turkeys along this trail; today I notice the catkins of the yellow birch are opening. (Catkins are flexible stalks of flowers that look like caterpillars but can waggle like the tail of a displeased feline.) If you walk the same path everyday you will notice something different each day.

We (adults and children) need to learn to not just look at nature but to see it. Do this – pick a small spot that you and your children can visit each day. This location can be in your backyard or along your street. It could be a small tree lining a city street. Go to this spot each day for thirty-or-sixty-seconds, more time if you have it.

Look at this place and tell yourself to find something different today than you did yesterday. It isn’t “cheating” to say, “Well, yesterday the branches were wet because it had rained at night and today the branches are dry.” That is an observation.

Notice the textures – feel the bud at the tip of a branch each day as it gets a little plumper and then opens. Feel the leaves as they change from tiny wrinkled things to smooth, expansive leaves. Notice how long it takes for that to happen.

Are the sounds different? Do you hear birds chirping from where you are standing? Compare the rustle of leaves to the rattling of bare branches. Notice the smell of the damp earth or the exhaust from the truck that just drove by.

This micro-exploration doesn’t take a lot of time and has a game-like quality to it. Noticing a change in nature is a bit like those “Can you spot the differences?” pictures where you compare two images and observe that the little girl isn’t holding an ice cream cone in both drawings. Only this observation game shows you the wonders of nature.