Encouraging children to engage with nature

Content warning - violence towards animals In previous posts I've mentioned that I believe the worldview of influential adults plays a large part in a child's openness to engage with (or continue engaging with) the natural world. In this post I will outline some of the ways that I attempt to encourage my three-year-old to … Continue reading Encouraging children to engage with nature

Engaging with nature – the challenge of finding resources online

In my post On danger in nature, I mentioned some factors that I think affect engagement with the natural world. One of these is the ease of finding sources of information about nature which are both reliable and pitched at the appropriate level. This is very broad but examples might be seeing a butterfly and … Continue reading Engaging with nature – the challenge of finding resources online

Danger in nature – all snakes and no ladders

Spot the snake (answer at the end) "There's danger everywhere!" exclaimed the twelve-year-old, after her little sister told her that scorpions like to nest in dry railway sleepers of the kind they were both standing on in the backyard. The twelve-year-old retreated to the security of the house and her phone, the three-year-old found a … Continue reading Danger in nature – all snakes and no ladders

On danger in nature

I've had a note on my phone for months now called 'Dangerous nature post'. It was a reminder to me to attempt to get some coherent thoughts down about nature, danger and the unknown. In February I read a fascinating article in Inkcap Journal. 'A dark miracle in the Forest of Dean' shows how the … Continue reading On danger in nature