How to be a nature teacher

Every person should be a nature teacher. Find a way to lead or encourage young ones in your life. (Credit: Lindsay Coulter)

Kids are smart and insightful -- especially when exposed to nature.

I recently took my son and 13 other three to five year olds on a bus trip to a favourite local park (with help).

I showed them a specimen of Equisetum, also known as "horsetail" -- a "living fossil." I said, "Horsetail is a prehistoric plant. It's been around since the time of the dinosaurs." (Kid's love dinosaurs, right?)

Three-and-a-half-year-old Sebastian asked, "Why?" I said, "That's a great question!" But didn't offer an answer.

Minutes later Sebastian said, "Maybe it's not allergic to people?"

How profound.

Richard Louv says every teacher can be a nature leader.

I take that a step further. Every person should be a nature teacher.



I pitched the hike idea to my son's new daycare because they want to get the kids outside more. For our first of what I suspect will be many hikes, I promised them a beaver lodge, bat and mason bee houses, turtles, ducks, bunnies and more. (I think a few expected cheetahs.)

The best part?

The rain stopped and we had the entire park to ourselves. We picked blackberries, ate snack in the grass -- a simple way to connect with nature -- and breathed the fresh air. (I saw the "nap sheet" for that day: 14 of 25 kids napped...)

The most challenging part?

A bathroom pit stop with 14 kids in muddy buddies!

What's your part?

Back to school shouldn't mean back inside.

If you have school-aged children:

Join our #SuzukiSuperhero Challenge. Beginning September 21, you'll receive a fun outdoor activity each week for four weeks, complete with step-by-step instructions, and be automatically entered to win prizes. Activities are adapted from our educational guide for kids in Kindergarten through Grade 8.

If you have an infant, toddler or preschooler:

Try my five ways to connect young kids with nature. Or encourage your daycare to get back outside. You could lead, chaperone or participate in an outdoor nature adventure.

If you don't have young kids:

Find a way to lead or encourage young ones in your life -- grandchildren, nieces and nephews, or neighbours -- to explore the outdoors.

Children need opportunities to do some of their learning away from school -- maybe at a park or community garden. It doesn't make sense if children only learn about the great outdoors inside a classroom.

What's your favourite outdoor activity to experience with kids?

Sincerely, Lindsay Coulter

A fellow Queen of Green

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