Nature: It Brings Out the Explorer in All of Us

I’ll never forget the day my 5-year old twins, Sam and Corey, loudly hummed the “Indiana Jones” theme song as they rigged up their own method of rappelling down a snow-covered ravine near our home. What was so odd was that they sang at all. Once they reached the age of five they rarely hummed or sang. I don’t know why, but they just did not like to sing.

But on this day the adventure in the ravine coaxed them out of their silence. They broke into song spontaneously. And, this song became their anthem each time they went back into the woods.

One started humming, then the other joined in – “Dah da dat tah! Dah da dah!” It was delightful. I took note listening to them sing, bit my lip so I would not giggle and followed them. I watched as one went first while the other held the end of a 20 foot rope tied around a tree. They had an idea which tree would work best and after some Charlie Chaplin-like slips and slides made it to the bottom.

They explored. They hummed. The tune slowed as Sam observed a plume of dust that erupted out of a dried puff ball when he stepped on it or when Corey peeled the bark off a downed birch tree to see the trails of worms and bugs that once lived there. The pace quickened again as they saw something new and raced to explore it. They tested their balance on long, wide tree trunks that stretched across a creek – knocked down by a storm. Together, they experimented with how much weight tiny pools of ice could handle before their snow boots broke through the ice and covered their boot tops.

At some point we broke open the lunch they carried in their backpacks and sat on boulders and tree stumps and we munched and they hummed. On occasion each would signal for the other to stop chewing and listen closely so they could determine what was making a “scratch, scratch, scratching” sound in a tree or under snow-encrusted leaves.

Sure, it was 20 degrees. But it didn’t have any impact on their escapade or wonder in this natural playground.

I had similar experiences when I was young. My sisters and brother and I would romp barefoot across 40 acres to our secret canyon, a marvelous rendezvous owned by a local charity foundation. Part of the property was a naturally-shaped ampi-theater and we put it to good use, performing spontaneous plays and pushing dead trees across the crevasse. The well-shaded sandstone walls produced a lovely green carpet of moss. This became the ideal setting for bringing gnomes, fairies and other little people to life.

I may have been humming back then, I can’t remember. But, I’m convinced nature brings out our best and feeds our sense of wonder. It also feeds elements of our physical, emotional and spiritual appetite.

For years Sam and Corey continued to explore their ravine. I thought it was a common activity, but discovered many kids don’t have this or any other natural opportunity. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, calls that a “nature deficit” when you don’t. His book compiles leading edge research on why experiences in nature are essential to a child’s development and to the well-being of the earth. Part of the research includes his interviews with nearly 3,000 children and parents. During one of these an honest San Diego fourth grader told him, “I like to play indoors better, ‘cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.” That interest seems to be echoed by many children today, Louv found.

With this observation and others, Louv makes us aware of just how much childhood has changed in a single generation. Take our space to roam, for instance. This has shrunk to one ninth of that of 1970. Plus, there is great fear (mostly ours) of things that keep kids indoors: traffic, strangers and virus-carrying mosquitoes. The big change though is in how children spend their time (too often with our encouragement). The bulk of that is stolen by TV, PC and hand-held video games. Louv’s statistics prove that kids today are able to identify cartoon and licensed characters better than trees and animals.

Louv’s research points to studies that confirm creativity is enhanced by childhood experiences in nature. So, he suggests finding ways for children to lead their own exploration of nature – taking walks and hikes, going fishing, or just exploring their own backyard where the tall grass meets the short. Or camping out under the stars. A parent’s enthusiasm will easily be contagious so reading Huckleberry Finn, the Boxcar Children or My Side of the Mountain – all terrific read-aloud books - can only help.

Montana-born Michelle Launstein connects easily with Louv’s notion and easily fits outside play into her suburban lifestyle. “Being outside in nature is just something you do,” she says. While life in Wisconsin is different for her three kids than when she was growing up, Michelle is always encouraging them to go outside and explore. It’s paid off. Six-year old Anna claims that her absolute favorite thing to do is play outside in her friend Libby’s backyard. She is very specific, “Not Libby’s new backyard, her old one.” Both she and Libby nod as they looked at each other and then at me. I ask them to explain and Anna, who once shouted out a greeting from the top of a 25-foot tree says, “It’s got the best trees to climb.”

I nodded as the pair continued to tell me more and thought Anna would not be one of the Louv’s “nature deficit” statistics. Then a little tune began to roll around in my head. “Dah dah dat tah!” You know the one.

Next, read Robin’s article Toys as Tools to Explore Nature which highlights some excellent toys (think bug boxes, leaf presses and nature kits) to enhance your experience when you’re in nature with your children.