This week I'm thrilled to introduce you to guest blogger, Sara, a YCCF parent!
There is so much research that tells us that getting children (and adults!) into nature is good for the mind, the body and the soul. But sometimes....... we're just not that comfortable with nature ourselves. We're thrilled to bring Sycamore Land Trust's Environmental Education Director, Shane Gibson to the YCCF next week for a family meadow and woodland exploration event. Maybe with just a little bit of guidance, we can all become more comfortable in the woods!
-Jen
#BabyBusby & I started our #NatureNovice adventure in April
2015. Nothing beats an experience in the great outdoors with your 2-year
old only to realize that, despite the 35+ years that separate you in age,
you’re neck-to-neck when it comes to nature maturity - or, in this case,
immaturity.
Baby Busby and I began our
outdoor adventure on April 11, 2015, at a “Li’l” Hikers event organized by Sycamore Land Trust.
On April 10, I received an email sharing how recent rains had
created a very wet ground and some puddles at Beanblossom Bottoms. Rubber
boots were encouraged.
Beanblossom Bottoms, a nature preserve located in
Ellettsville, Indiana, is part of a wetland. I had never before trekked through
wetlands, but wet ground and puddles sounded like everything I imagined
wetlands to be. The day of our event, I received a second email telling
me, “We will be playing in water more than we will be hiking, so bring rubber
boots… the trails are flooded.”
I should take a minute here to share that I swim
like a fish but don’t enjoy swimming with the fish. I don’t enjoy
lakes unless I’m on top of the water cruising on a boat. Flooded
wetlands caught my attention, because it seemed like standing water in the woods
equalled a mini lake with lots of trees thrown into the mix.
It was this notion that sprung me into action and, 25
minutes before Baby Busby and I needed to depart for our playdate with nature,
I was sprinting through the mall in a fruitless effort to find rubber boots for
toddlers. In 15 minutes, I visited five stores and came up with a big
zero.
It looked like both Busbys were about to wade through
a kiddie-sized lake…
Beanblossom Bottoms Preserve, Meet the Busbys
Water greeted Baby Busby and I when we arrived at
Beanblossom Bottoms. Even the parking lot was under 4″ of water in
places. My hiking boots were soaked clear through by the time I walked -
or waded - around the car to get Baby Busby from her carseat. Not that I
minded; I may not be a nature girl, but I don’t mind dirty. Baby Busby,
on the other hand, wasn’t into the water — literally or physically.
David Rupp, of IndiGo Birding Nature
Tours, served as both our guide and instructor. Rupp taught
the Li’l Hikers about the different sounds made by different frogs. We
had an opportunity to touch the amphibians - “Pass” said both Baby Busby & I
- and learned the differences between amphibians and reptiles. We learned
and listened to the different sounds made by different types of frogs - Did you
know that a chorus frog sounds like the noise you make when you run your
fingers down a comb?
Sometime half-way through the instructor’s lesson, a creature darted underneath the plank on which Rupp was giving his lesson, which was 18″ away from where I stood holding Baby Busby.
“Did anyone see that?!” our leader excitedly asked. “A mouse just darted underneath us! I think it’s still under us!”
Confession #1: I shamelessly admit that my proudest moment of this entire adventure is that I managed to squelch the screech that I unconsciously make every time I see a creature.
Sometime half-way through the instructor’s lesson, a creature darted underneath the plank on which Rupp was giving his lesson, which was 18″ away from where I stood holding Baby Busby.
“Did anyone see that?!” our leader excitedly asked. “A mouse just darted underneath us! I think it’s still under us!”
Confession #1: I shamelessly admit that my proudest moment of this entire adventure is that I managed to squelch the screech that I unconsciously make every time I see a creature.
As our guide wrapped up his lesson, he distributed
nets and other paraphernalia for the children, aged 18 months through 12 years,
waded into the water. Baby Busby and I brought up the rear. We watched an
8-year old boy, also not in rubber boots, as he searched for and discovered
bugs and amphibians in the water that was now mid-way up my calves.
I soon saw one of the older children return to our
spot, which was a mere 20 feet from the parking lot. Upon seeing us, she
advised against venturing off the trail into the wetlands’ woods. We
then watched her hold onto the Sycamore Land Trust trail map sign before
pulling off her knee-high rubber boots empty each one.
“The water is pretty deep when you get off the trail,”
as she explained.
Baby Busby and I lasted about 50 minutes in the water
before we wrapped up our first Nature Novice adventure. I stood in four
inches of water as secured her carseat. As I shut her car door to squish
my way to the drivers side, something in the water caught my attention. A
few feet away, I saw something that initially looked like a long skinny leaf. Upon
a (slightly) closer look, I thought it might be a snake.
“Aadi!” I called to our new friend. “Look! What’s
this?”
Aadi wasn’t sure, but he was excited and enthusiastically
called out, “David, come look at this! It might be a snake!”
“It’s a leach!” David said while dipping his hand into
the water to pick up the critter. “Look how it latches on and starts sucking on
me right away!”
Exit the Busbys, stage right…
author: @naturenovice
Twitter: https://twitter.com/naturenovice
