Getting Children Back to Nature

Yesterday, the CA had a nice little piece focusing on Getting Children Back to Nature, adapted from Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods.

Getting Children Back to Nature

Invite nature into your backyard. Set up bird feeders and a birdbath. Use a guidebook -- many are available at libraries and bookstores -- to learn to identify birds. Replace part of your lawn with native plants. Leave fallen limbs in the yard so lichen can grow.

Make a leaf or rock collection, or press wild flowers. Use guidebooks (available at most libraries and bookstores) to learn how to identify leaves and trees, rocks and plants.

There's a lot of nature in the sky. Be a cloud spotter and learn to identify the many shifting shapes of clouds. A book such as Gavin Pretor-Pinney's "The Cloudspotter's Guide" (Perigee Trade, paperback, $13.95) will be helpful.

Encourage kids to build a tree house, fort or hut; parents provide materials and tools, and kids make the plans and do the work. In nice weather, let the kids spend the night in their project -- no iPods or other media players -- so they can listen to the sounds of the night.

Institute family walks and hikes, first through the neighborhood, then to a local park, and then perhaps to a distant park with nature trails. Consult the American Hiking Society for tips and advice. (Also, don't forget Citizens to Preserve Overton Park leads nature walks every second Saturday and fourth Friday in Overton Park.)

In the fall, take the family to farms and commercial orchards to pick berries and harvest fruit and vegetables.

Go fishing. Start with the simplest equipment. Actually catching fish is not the point. Check with the Junior Anglers and Hunters of America for advice on getting children interested in fishing.