Building Appreciation for the Natural World

Yesterday, my young kids and I went for a walk to a nearby playground.  What is special about this playground is that it borders a stream that does not have a lot of human influence.  The plants are allowed to go grow naturally and it does not appear to be sprayed.   

After a lot of playing on the swings and slides, we started to return home.  We stopped along the edge of the stream to see if we could spot any fish.  Although we could not, we did see a water bug hopping on the water and several neon blue dragon flies.  (I don't what the names are sadly).  

 Further down the stream, a frog was hopping through the water in a shallow area on the far bank.  When we went to the edge of the stream to get a closer look, the frog had hidden in the grasses.  We could hear its chirping but could not see it. After giving up looking for it, we moved about 50 feet and we encountered a muskrat watching us from the edge of the path.  It of course quickly disappeared as we got too close.

Seeing nature up close instills a sense of the natural world.  When we are in the car, I point out different sights but it doesn't create the same sense of wonder and as being close to nature.  Today they were quite willing to get close to a cicada that we found on the sidewalk.  Who knows what we will find tomorrow?

What are your memories of being close to nature?