Technological evolution has permeated the young generation’s overall life engagement. Everywhere you look, there you see a child clutching an iPad or a tablet! What role does mobile play session play in a child’s life? Can you do something about it for your child? It is alarming to see how the advent of technology and gadgets not only limits your child’s wonders of experience and knowledge, but also how it exhibits negative effects on their health in the long run. As a parent, you need to be…

On February 21st this year I was thrilled to attend the inaugural Nature Connect Conference in Melbourne.

Presented by the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Victorian Child & Nature Connection, it was a gathering of inspiring and inspired leaders and practitioners from community, health, industry,…

One way to celebrate our connection with nature and to create and celebrate our own connection to each other is by way of music. We always sing in our programs with the Vashon Wilderness Program. Today, though, was a "Community & Ecology" day in our summer camp for 4-6 year olds. At one point along the trail, we picked up sticks, tapping them together. We sang "The Earth Is Our Mother" and other songs as we wandered along,…

Just spent a magical day in the woods with kids (ages 4-6 for this week's camp)  in our Vashon Wilderness Program summer camp. In our "Sit Spot" time, we gave the kids 4 minutes to touch into their hearts, and find a place where a secret treasure meant only for them was waiting. So sweet to see them wander off into the field, find a special place, and discover something special just for them. Some of the kids drew what they found. Others merely placed it into their "mind's…

Agencies and non-profits take action through Youth In Nature Partnership 

My concentration is interrupted by the sound of a bullhorn. I look up from a table full of youth chipping and jabbing away at pieces of obsidian rock. “If you signed up for the second rafting trip, come gather under the tree” shouts a City of Eugene River House staff member. Two teenage boys ask me if I can hold their carefully sculpted pieces of obsidian while they raft. I wrap the bulky, sharp…

When we decided to put in a small garden pond I had planned on it being a fun hobby for the family that would also make a nice extra feature for the yard. As soon as I started to research it some to see how to go about it, it became obvious that it was going to be far more than a hobby to pass a few hours of quality time but would provide a virtual laboratory full of science and environmental project as well. It is my favorite type of learning with the children – hands on with actual results…

Building a garden shed was a unique learning experience for my children Aside from some basic vocational skills and safety lessons that are always good to teach, we used the Pythagorean theorem to keep things square to demonstrate real world uses for seemingly “useless” math, introductory physics with lever and fulcrum to show my nine year old how to lift a 250lb wall section and block and tackle to hoist small rafter sections to demonstrate the effectiveness of pulleys, and half a dozen…