Connecting Our Children To Nature
During the recent Wild Fair sponsored by Bragg Creek Wild, guest speaker Kevin Van Tighem was asked, “When parents want to guide their young children to love, respect and protect wilderness, how can we begin?” Kevin suggests taking young children outdoors into a natural setting and letting them explore freely. When they get older, they will have the passion and commitment to act to protect nature.
Younger children often get absorbed in something naturally and quickly. If they don’t, what can we do as parents, grandparents, and friends of young children to help them stop, look mindfully, smell, touch, listen and explore all of the natural elements and life coexisting with us in Bragg Creek?
Exploring Nature Through Walks and Observation
Letting children lead the way during family walks, with lots of conversation about what they smell, touch, hear and see can foster interest and initiative to explore. It can also deepen a child’s interest to practice elaborating on what they see. Walk until something grabs your attention – a flower, a bush, an ant nest, flowing water, stones, birds in a tree, or a passing animal. Ask your child to describe what they are seeing. Encouraging details can lead them to new discoveries about the objects they encounter. Drawing, taking photos or recording their observations on your phone can add to the experience. Older children may want to keep a Nature Journal. It’s the repeated experiences in nature that build familiarity and connection.
Picture Books For Observation, Wonder and Nature
Picture books for children can suggest ways to explore nature and help deepen their understanding of the natural world:
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Secret Place by Eve Bunting
- Everybody Needs A Rock by Byrd Baylor
- Did you Hear the Wind Sing Your Name?: An Oneida Song of Spring by Sandra De Coteau Orie
- Nature’s Playground: Activities, Crafts and Games to Encourage Children to Get Outdoors by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield
- A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer
- Underground by Denise Fleming
- The Little Book of Woodland Bird Songs by Andrea Pinnington and Caz Buckingham
- The Practical Naturalist: Explore the Wonder of the Natural World (for older children) by Audubon
Discovering Nature In Your Own Backyard
Closer to home, are there piles of stones and dirt to dig in? Plants with different textures and smells? Flowers that attract bees, butterflies, birds and beetles?
Some plants grow well in Bragg Creek and provide blooms for both families and pollinators from Spring through Fall. Examples include the Prairie Crocus, Chives, Beardtongue, Salvia, Blanket Flower, Giant Hyssop, Beebalm, Black- Eyed Susan, Sunflowers, Asters and Goldenrod. Encourage children to explore these plants to help them notice the diversity of life around them. They can observe pollinators at work, compare textures and scents and see the seasons change.
Gardening and Learning From the Soil
Do you have vegetables in your garden? Invite children to help plant and care for them. Talk about what the soil feels like when it is wet or dry. Discuss how plants look, smell and feel. Share the excitement of discovering a worm or beetle. Help children observe changes as the plants grow and talk about what they notice. Have them eat the vegetables they’ve helped to raise and lay the foundation for understanding all that Earth gives us to help us survive. Gardening helps children develop a relationship with the living world and an appreciation for the cycles of growth and harvest.
Nature As A Place For Creativity and Play
Children naturally act on what they see – touching, digging, building and creating. They like to make structures like castles, bridges, moats, sculptures, roads, hills, etc. for imaginative play. They have nature’s raw materials like pinecones, sticks, stones, mud and mosses at hand to help them create their stories. Offer extra materials to support their curiosity by providing a shovel, pail, net, jar, pencil or chalk, a magnifying glass, telescope or camera and paper for drawing.
In summary, when we invite and encourage our children to experience and take part in the discovery of the natural world outside, we create a healthy curiosity, enjoyment, respect and desire to protect the special wildlands in which we coexist.
Invite your family to become members of Bragg Creek Wild and enhance your connection to nature and our community! Volunteer opportunities, monthly newsletters and community events support our mission of safe and sustainable coexistence with our wildlife in our wild lands. Visit www.braggcreekwild.ca. Membership is free!
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