The Care and Feeding of Born Naturalists
Encouraging children to explore in the natural world will develop their appreciation of the environment as adults.
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Heidi Hunt
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By Terry Krautwurst
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My mother always knew where to look for me on windy days or
just before a sudden storm, when restless gusts stirred the
leafy treetops to a green froth and sent birds in the
darkening sky winging for shelter. She'd step out on the
porch and call to me in my high, hidden perch amid the
wildly swaying topmost branches of the maple near our
garage. "Better come down now," she'd holler, "before one
of those branches breaks." Then she'd go back indoors, both
of us knowing full well that nothing less than lightning,
hard rain or dinner time would prompt my descent.
I loved to ride the wind up there, my feet braced against
creaking limbs, my back to the tree's trunk lurching and
rolling like a ship's mast above tossing seas, the leaves
all around flapping and fidgeting, hanging on by their
stems for dear life. I loved the power and danger and
beauty of it: the heady height, the dizzying motion, the
push-pull force of wind, the sure answering strength of
limber living tree, the smell of green leaf flesh and
newborn air.
I'm speaking not just of childhood memories, but of moments
in the making of the love for nature that runs bone-deep in
me. There are many more memories I could relate: of fishing
in the wide, slickshale creek behind our house; of
countless days spent wandering the rolling fields of my
grandparents' farm; of pheasants bursting by the dozen from
hedgerows; of playing hide-and-seek in towering forests of
sweet corn; of crunch-crunch-crunching across acres of
iceglazed, sunlight-bejeweled snow.
This was my childhood and—I'm certain—the
reason why I feel such a sustaining connection to the
outdoor world. It's also, I suppose, why I feel so
compelled to instill the same bond with nature in my own
children.
That's easier said than done. Times, after all, have
changed. Far fewer children are growing up rural, like I
did. It's often not the outdoors but the indoors that
defines their environment. And speaking of the environment:
Isn't that something you learn about in school, along with
math and social studies?
Fortunately for parents, one truth remains: All children
are born naturalists. Wonder and curiosity come installed.
Just look in the eyes of any youngster watching a butterfly
or holding a lightning bug. See? The challenge isn't so
much to teach children about the natural world, but to find
ways—despite school activities, video games and the
other distractions of youth—to nurture and sustain
the instinctive connections they already carry. Here are
some ideas that have helped me in that pursuit. Perhaps
you'll find them useful for your own born naturalists.
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