No More Sticks

[Naomi Goegan]

Have you ever imagined a world without sticks?





The thought had never even crossed my mind, nor our children's...






until today.

As our group was leaving one of our favorite nature trails, a worker came out to tell the kids not to take the sticks they were carrying.

I believe her exact words were:

"If everyone took a stick, there wouldn't be any more sticks."




No more sticks...

Really?




Interestingly enough, our kids, all four of the ones who she was talking to, had actually brought their own favorite sticks with them and were carrying out their own sticks. That's how much they love sticks, they bring them and own them and know who's belongs to who.

Imagine God pondering the thought that he had not designed the world with enough sticks for children to play with, swing on, climb up, use as pretend weapons, build tee pees with... Ha!





Unfortunately, when we visit state and regional parks with our children in Southern California, the message from rangers and volunteers more often than not is that nature is to be observed from afar, not touched, not known intimately. Enjoying and experiencing nature is against the rules.

We're talking about 4 sticks in a 388 acre park with thousands of trees continually producing new sticks!

It's no wonder that more and more, we find ourselves taking our kids to natural places without rangers, without nature centers, without volunteers... how sad.

And how sad that the very people who will some day become the rangers, landscapers, community developers, etc.; that their love for nature, to know her intimately, is not considered just as endangered. Who will have an interest in caring for something they were never allowed to know intimately? Something that was always against the rules?

I think on Christmas it would be fun to buy a case of Louv's books and drop them off as presents at every nature center. It should be mandatory reading for all employees!

[Naomi Goegan]

Wow! Looks like the makings of a great little shelter. Those are some big sticks for preschoolers. Thanks for the comments :)

[Jennifer K]

Ahh, the joy of sticks. I'm an enormous fan of nature play for young children, and we take our kids into the bush surrounding our preschool almost daily. We are teaching them to be respectful of their local natural environment, but at the same time they enjoy nature's bounty in their play. Look at the fun they had with sticks last week:

[Ken Finch]

Well, thanks for that offhand compliment, John -- but you're the education guy, not me! In fact, every year I realize, more and more, how ignorant I am about education and most other things. At this rate, by the time I die I won't know a bloody thing....

[John Thielbahr]

This is a wonderful discussion Naomi and Ken. After reading Ken's piece, I am reminded of Rich's caution to all of us: Yes, there is danger in nature, but compare that danger to the world our kids experience in virtual house arrest with their electronics. Everything is related to something else, and more than anything, the Children and Nature movement is about balance.

Naomi, thanks for your great postings and bringing us new things to consider. Ken, I never thought I would see the day when you are "unfamiliar" with an educational method. Me too. Naomi and a couple of other folks on this site have enlightened many about Charlotte Mason. I will be with Rich in Bend, Oregon tomorrow and will mention this great discussion. I am sure Ken and Rich have talked about this issue many times before.

[Ken Finch]

Thanks for flagging the Charlotte Mason method, Naomi. I'm unfamiliar with it, but I'll check it out. As for those sensitive natural areas that California has in abundance: not to worry, your kids don't need 'em for play. All they need is some left-over "rough ground," to use Bob Pyle's terminology. I was a CA kid once, and my favorite play zone was the lemon orchard down the street. To my young eyes, it was wilderness! I was pretty sure that the orchard stretched all the way to the Sierras....

And the only significant "mama bear" run-ins that I've had were with the large, furry kind.... (much less frightening that the human version! ). Cheers!

[Naomi Goegan]

You mean I can't beat those people over the head with Rich's book and tell them they're depriving our children of experiences that are rightfully theirs?!

You must have run into many a mama bear like me in your career before :)

Unfortunately, most everywhere here in California, aside from the desert, is considered a very sensitive natural area - serves us right for dreaming to live in such a place!

All kidding aside, you are absolutely right, the sensible way to go about it is to promote the value of nature play as a conservation strategy, and talking to them about their childhood is a good starting point. It's so refreshing to talk to someone in your capacity who 'gets it'. 36 years - wow, that's amazing!

I admire the great gains you've made in pioneering solutions for preschoolers through www.greenheartsinc.org What a fantastic cause, I especially loved your bit on "Don't Fear the Reaper" - AMEN to that!

Unfortunately, nature isn't the only thing our children are losing touch with. And for that reason I initially contacted this group hoping to bring light to an educational philosophy and method which coincides with its cause. Pioneered by and named after Charlotte Mason, a turn of the century British Educator, her methods have grown in popularity with homeschoolers and educators alike through books like "For the Children's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and organizations and resources like www.amblesideonline.org and www.childlightusa.org

Charlotte Mason not only believed that every child had an inherent right to be put in touch with nature, but also with the great minds and great ideas of all time - the history of humanity, music, art, and more. She wrote:

What concerns us personally is the fact that we have relations with what there is in the present and with what there has been in the past, with what is above us, and about us; and that fullness of living and serviceableness depend for each of us upon how far we apprehend these relationships and how many of them we lay hold of. Every child is heir to an enormous patrimony. The question is, what are the formalities necessary to put him in possession of that which is his? ~Vol. 3 p. 218

That is the dilemma of the hour it seems - or one of them anyhow. And myself and many other Mothers believe Charlotte Mason's methods are one possible solution to reviving education.

In any case, I am thankful to have connected with you here and am grateful for this forum. I wish you all the best and hope to cross paths again - and yes, we'll have our sticks!!

[Ken Finch]

Hi Naomi. I enjoyed your “No more sticks” post, and thought you might be interested in the perspective of a long-time nature center person (namely me).

Parks, refuges, and nature centers have typically been created on the basis of a powerful and well-intended land ethic ― a natural version of the physicians’ credo, “First, do no harm.” For decades (maybe generations) young land managers have had it drilled into them that visitors must not do anything to harm their parkland ― usually expressed in the form of nearly universal rules like stay on the trails, do not pick or collect anything, don’t throw rocks in the pond, don’t catch bugs, etc., etc. I’ve personally been there, done that ― for about the first half of my 36-year career in environmental education. Many of my colleagues have not yet questioned that basic land ethic, and ― it must be said ― there are some very sensitive natural areas that do require absolute protection. Yet often the good intentions go way over the top.

I know an educator who was on a docent-led tour of an Arizona arboretum. She picked a leaf from a Sycamore tree ― unknown in her home state. Immediately, the docent gave her a tongue lashing in front of the whole group. The usual mindless drivel: “What if every visitor….” The funny thing is that it was early November, and Sycamores are deciduous trees ― so that leaf was a goner in a matter of days, anyway! Common sense truly isn’t.

Now the good news: nature center leaders and environmental educators across the country are wising up to the importance of nature play, even when it is slightly destructive. Virtually all of us in the profession played that way as kids and worshiped our own sticks. Aided by those memories, we are collectively beginning to understand exactly what the research says: frequent, unstructured childhood play in natural areas is the most common influence on life-long conservation values. Scores of nature centers are setting aside land for active play including “destructive” things like digging, catching, and collecting. Many are also doing their best to include time for free play in their scheduled programs. Rules are even being changed to allow more play.

The profession still has a long way to go in this regard, and there are not yet any clear best practices. But the emerging trend is away from the rigid rules and strict enforcement you described. (Btw, if you’d like my own take on these play spaces for nature centers, visit www.greenheartsinc.org and click on “Design Principles for Nature Play Design.”)

The key to continued progress in this realm is how the children and nature connection is described and “sold.” The common “stronger, smarter, healthier kids” tack doesn’t carry much weight with professional natural resource people. Quality child development is all well and good; who could object to it? But nature center people and their allies need to hear about children’s nature play as a legitimate conservation strategy. I.e., that kids’ nature play will do some minor damage, but the damage is more than compensated for by the long-term, positive impacts of such play on personal conservation values. It’s actually perfectly analogous to the creation of nature centers themselves: the buildings, parking lots, entry roads, and trails all do considerable damage to the land ― but that’s considered OK because of the conservation benefits they provide. Nature play should be viewed similarly.

So next time you encounter an old-school naturalist who’s lost in silly rules, try engaging him/her in a conversation about how they played outside as a child. Pretty likely it will open up a whole fun discussion, and just might start them towards re-thinking their rules. And while you’re at it, encourage any organizations you’re involved with that promote the child/nature bond ― including C&NN ― to more prominently feature and promote the value of nature play as a conservation strategy, not just as a means towards healthy child development.

And whatever you do, don’t give up those sticks! 