Biodiversity …I Spy…No Child Left Inside
Just Another Nature Enthusiast has posted a challenge this month, to focus on the biodiversity around us. For the last six years, since we moved to the farm, documenting biodiversity has been one of my favorite pastimes, so I am going to do a series of posts.
It has been an unusual spring here in East Texas. Our average rainfall for May is about 5 inches; so far we have had 12.5 inches! Of course the two days it didn’t rain, when I would have loved to stay home and accomplish something here, were two Saturdays that I had volunteered to help on some Girl Scout nature hikes. I had a great time with the groups, and ended up seeing some wonderful creatures that I don’t usually see here.
The hikes are scheduled to be two hours long, but with moving at the girls’ pace, and stopping for animal observations and frequent questions, they end up being more like three hours long.
On one hike, the girls were fourth graders from a suburban area. They said that they lived where there were lots of stores and businesses, but also a lot of parks. They were interested in everything, and when we saw a box turtle they stood perfectly still and quiet for ten minutes, waiting patiently for the turtle to stick out its head from its shell. When we saw snakes, they moved calmly to get a good look, one at a time. They asked observant questions, like “What made that tree grow sideways?” It was so much fun to be out with them, and my impression was that they were pretty knowledgeable about nature.
But when I had them write down one thing they learned, they wrote things like, “I didn’t know there were different kinds of trees,” and “I didn’t know turtles could close their shells.” So I was glad I had opened their eyes to some new aspects of nature, It reconfirmed my belief that sharing nature with kids is one of the most important things I can do.
It’s always to joy to see children enjoy their world while learning about it. What a privilege you have to be able to teach.
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It was wonderful to be with groups of such attentive kids – a teacher’s dream!
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Sounds like your Saturday hikes really benefited those girls. I bet there are plenty of adults who would enjoy that hike too.
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Yes, the leaders said they learned a lot too. It seems that adults can’t make the time to do things like that on their own – they have to take along some kids to justify it! I was the same way, though, too busy to learn that kind of stuff until lately. 🙂
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Agreed…”sharing nature with kids is one of the most important things I can do”
In this digital world… I believe that means kids of ALL ages.
What a dream to share with 4th grade age kids. If the humans could keep the perspective of 9-10 year olds, the world would be a perfect place.
So happy to see you join the UNLESS Challenge! Looking forward to your series of posts and some more terrific nature slideshows.
~Jane
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Thanks! I have been meaning to join in but could not get my act together until now. I can get lost in the research on some aspect of textiles for weeks, and then I don’t post on a regular basis. But I am always working on recording biodiversity and doing a little citizen science too.
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I loved the photos. The cottonmouth … not so much. But the garter snake and rat snake would be fun to see.
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I have never seen a cottonmouth in my whole life, so I was glad to see one from a safe distance, to know exactly what they look like. We have one of those garter snakes here and it is my favorite, with that lovely color combination of turquoise and black stripes.
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Garter snakes are beautiful. And yes, I’d actually be glad to see the cottonmouth “from a safe distance.” 🙂
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Funny comments……BEST reasons for them to be OUT there looking around…WITH a leader! cottonmouth’s not to be messed with. Good for you, thank you.
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