Environmental Communications

“The way a child discovers the world constantly replicates the way science began.  You start to notice what’s around you, and you get very curious about how things work.  How things interrelate.  It’s as simple as seeing a bug that intrigues you.  You want to know where it goes at night; who its friends are; what it eats.” ~David Conenberg

My mantra over the years has become: Teaching the youth good habits is far easier than asking them to break bad habits when they are older.

Indeed, children are our future stewards, and exposing them to the natural world is not only fun but also our responsibility.  It’s far easier and more exciting to care for and protect things that we know about and are meaningful to us!

It’s amazing how children are truly a product of their surroundings and upbringings.  For example, my mother is deathly allergic to bees and has been absolutely terrified of them since the first time she was stung and rushed to the hospital. This fear for her is understandable, as she has a life-threatening reaction to the venom.  However, I grew up watching my mom’s response and became terrified of bees as well, jumping and screaming whenever one came near me.  It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I started examining this unspoken communication, these signals my mother was sending me, and decided I would try really hard not to fear bees. It took some time, but I learned to remain calm when a bee is near, and ask it kindly to move onto the next best thing.  In turn, my daughter watches my peaceful reaction to the bees and responds exactly the same way.  She laughs at her friends, and even her grandmother, when they get panicky with the first site of a bee.  She tells them, “It won’t hurt you, just relax so you don’t scare it, or it might sting you!”

My daughter’s affection for critters expands to numerous taxonomies, all winning her gentle touch.  At our last home, she would run out to the car every morning before we left for the day to “rescue” all the snails that, for some reason, would hang out near the wheels of my Subaru.  She didn’t want any of them to get squished, so she would gently place them in the garden (where they had plenty to eat, of course)! 

My father has enjoyed vermicomposting (worm composting) for years.  When we visit my family, Hadlie is right out there with grandpa, feeding and sorting the worms and looking after them.  Whenever we go for hikes, camping trips, or even play in the backyard, my daughter seems to notice and find the most interesting bugs!  She will hold them, examine them, maybe build them a home out of moss and twigs.  She had an entire complex for those snails she loved so much, complete with a yoga studio, a grocery store, a fine-dining restaurant, and a special room for “mating.”  (I have taken a plethora of biology classes; she knows about reproduction, ha).

We both don’t care for critters in our home, but we could never kill anything.  Instead, we “capture” the spiders and release them outside.  (Okay, so maybe spiders aren’t my “favorite animal,” but I would never let on!)

I’m so thankful that I have been able to instill in my daughter a love and appreciation for all the living things on this planet, and I am sure she will pass this mindset on to the people in her life as well.