Summer’s coming, parents. What are you going to do with the
kids?
“Get them out of the house,” said Diane Davies, a 4-H
environmental education
specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service.
But Davies isn’t thinking of your peace of mind. She’s concerned
about how your
children connect with the world of nature. Children are
naturally curious about the
out-of-doors. But at some point, their interests switch to
school, friends, TV and
music.
“In the traditional school setting and in their more urbanized
lifestyle, children are
unlearning their connection to the environment,” Davies said.
“In summer, as in any season, children need to get involved and
learn about the
environment around them,” she said. “Most children have lost
their relationship with
the land.
“In the past,” she said, “many children grew up on the farm.
They understood natural
resources, where their food came from, they enjoyed hunting and
fishing. Today,
children lack that connection with the natural world.”
But help is on the way.
If you don’t see your place in nature, you can learn how you fit
in, Davies said. The
first step is out the front door.
Just get your children to play outdoors. Sit in the sand on the
beach. Show them a snail
or let them hold a fish, she said. Visit a farm. Go to summer
camp.
Davies encourages parents to give children a pet — and the
responsibility that goes with
it.
“They need to care about something other than themselves,” she
said. “They need to be
responsible for another living thing.”
“Parents need to build a wide base of experience for their
children,” Davies said. “To
connect to the land, they need to understand their place in it.
They need to see the big
picture.”
Luckily, the world is full of excellent ways for children to
explore nature. The field of
environmental education is booming.
In Georgia, the 4-H Environmental Education program will welcome
nearly 45,000
children to four 4-H centers during the 1996-97 school year. The
classes bring children
out of walled classrooms and into nature’s classroom to study
biology, science, history
and other subjects.
“We get children into the program who have never seen a sky full
of stars before,”
Davies said. “They’ve never walked in the woods at night or seen
the ocean. They’ve
never understood life in these terms.”
Youngsters can also visit science centers designed to introduce
them to life sciences and
other topics. The Natural History Museum at the Rock Eagle 4-H
Center near Eatonton
has two floors of exhibits and classrooms to stimulate
children’s imagination and help
them connect with nature.
The 4-H camping season will bring thousands of children back to
nature this summer.
“These are full study experiences,” Davies said. “But just
walking out the front door is
a great way for children to get started learning about the
environment. Just get them out
of the house.”
