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Play your role in introducing children to nature
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Published: September 24, 2009
North Carolinians are preparing for a weeklong celebration that few of us are aware of. Today begins Take a Child Outside Week -- organized and sponsored locally by the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. It will come and go with little fanfare, but it is only the third year of the event. (The museum provides a list of suggested activities on its Web site: www.naturalsciences.org.)
Last year's event brought North Carolina recognition as a leader in identifying the importance of giving children opportunities to experience the outdoors. The week's message should resonate with parents, grandparents and anyone involved in the lives of children. As Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, said, "… it's time to create nature and health where we and our families live, work and play."
Louv has written of "Nature Deficit Disorder" -- his name for the public's increasing separation from the natural world. His primary argument is how the lack of interaction with the natural world harms children's developing minds even more than it impacts adults. For many of us connected to our Piedmont outdoors, it is hard to imagine needing a nudge to take our children outside. I grew up in a rural community where sunlit hours were spent catching crawdads, building forts in the woods or working in my parent's garden.
Many of today's children never have opportunities to enjoy this same experience. Our schedules are so packed that it is hard to find two hours to witness the joy of a child catching his or her first fish, marveling at a praying mantis or simply chasing a butterfly across an open field. Some children are so insulated from the natural environment that fear overrides the opportunity of being outside where wild things live. Even worse, some parents believe they can replicate the experience of nature from a computer or television screen.
Experiencing nature does not mean traveling long distances. Forsyth County boasts an abundance of outdoor opportunities for children. Local parks are common and within walking distance for many. Miller Park, 14th Street Park and Hathaway Park are but a few of these urban oases.
Old Salem and Horne Creek Farm are easily accessible and provide programs to help kids understand the natural world. For a small fee, SciWorks and the North Carolina Zoo bring exotic and local nature close to all. The newly created Mayo River State Park will offer outstanding programs only a short distance from our suburban and urban environment. Other nearby destinations include Hanging Rock State Park, Pilot Mountain State Park and Uwharrie National Forest. Large or small, all these parks provide chances to escape from the daily hustle and find a quiet, natural setting -- a place where a child's imagination can run wild.
Schools, civic leaders and the nonprofit community all play an important, low-cost role in introducing children to nature. When Piedmont Land Conservancy recently conducted a controlled burn at Greensboro's Price Park, the most exciting part of the day was not the fire. The questions and interest from Jefferson Elementary School fourth and fifth graders who observed the fire were even more combustible than the grasses were. The children's enthusiasm was contagious and experiences gained from watching the flames spread would be difficult to describe in a classroom setting. This outdoor classroom provided biology, chemistry, geography and history lessons all rolled into one sunny laboratory.
Over the next year, these students will have an opportunity to monitor the establishment of a prairie across from their school.
While all of these venues and groups can aid in explaining how nature works, the decision must ultimately be made at the family level. Parents of small children must find the time to take the kids outside. The experiences gained outside at a young age are important fuel for a lifetime of wonderment at nature's marvels.
Too often, we think of investments in financial terms. Investing time with children outside costs almost nothing while the returns are immeasurable. With the arrival of fall and more pleasant weather, it is a great time to take a child outside. A few hours exploring nature could feed a mind that will treasure those experiences forever.
Kevin Redding is the executive director of the Piedmont Land Conservancy.
The Journal welcomes original submissions for North Carolina Voices on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. The writer should have some authority for writing about his or her subject. Our e-mail address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. You may also mail a typed essay to: Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime telephone number.
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