Developing an Apppreciation for Nature

  How can you develop an appreciation for nature?  Go outdoors.  A person's appreciation for nature begins with and is sustained by that.  Appreciation does not mean unconditional love.  There are things in nature that can be painful and poisonous, wondrous and beautiful.  But respect and knowledge can be gained for natural things when you step out of the doorway to your home.  My own appreciation for nature began there.

  I had the fortune of growing up in a rural, midwestern town.  Countless unstructured hours were spent outdoors.  A lot of time was spent playing in the yard and sandbox.  As I write this, there are memories that I am recalling that I have not thought of in years.  There were the thistles that grew in the yard, eating fresh rhubarb with a friend, catching lightning bugs, discovering that you can be stung by caterpillars (I do not recall the type).  My sister and I ran laps around the house during a summer shower.  One summer I decided to knock a wasp nest down from the shed using a baseball.  The memories of hearing people yell, "Run!!" now brings a smile to my face.  I don't think I ever ran so fast.  The free play allowed me to discover, and figure things about nature on my own.

  Having 100 percent of your outdoor time to be free play is limiting though.  When a child discovers something, adult guidance can help create further understanding. When I found a small brown lizard on a tree, my grandfather told me that some lizards can lose their tails to predators.  They can then regrow a lost tail.  That was completely fascinating.  Opportunities to learn come from discovery.  Those opportunities give us a reason to learn. 

  There are many things that keep one inside.  Television, computers, phone, unsafe neighborhoods, limited access to green space are such examples.  I admit that I have spent time creating in Minecraft, conquering in World of Warcraft, and exploring other video game worlds.  While these can be fun, they can also be prisons that keep us indoors.  The entertainment that people create is impressive, but nothing is truly as fascinating as the art that Mother Nature has painted.  So take some time, disconnect, and go outdoors.  Take someone with you.