Walking into Nature

Recently, I had the pleasure of taking a home-schooled child and his family on a nature walk, part of a project exploring the countryside. As we set out on one of my favorite trails, each observation sparked curiosity, inspiring me to share some insights to help you and your children look more closely at the natural world around you.

The Journey Begins

Late winter in the Northern hemisphere presents a fascinating landscape. The ground is blanketed with last year’s dead grass stalks, with tender new leaves emerging through the decay. Notice the path behind me – what looks like grass at first glance is something quite different.

A Closer Look at the Path

Surprise! The path is actually composed of small, flat pads of liverworts and moss. When my young companion asked how long these organisms have been around, I shared a mind-boggling fact: liverworts have existed for approximately 485 million years, while mosses appeared around 250 million years ago.

Nature’s Ancient Decorations

“What are those patches on the tree trunk?” he asked. Lichens – fascinating organisms formed by a symbiotic relationship between fungi (around for at least 600 million years) and algae (existing for over a billion years).

Turning Over Stones

We took our exploration further by turning over a moss-covered stone, revealing a microcosm of life: slugs, an earthworm, woodlice, and ground beetles scurrying away. Some quick natural history: earthworms appeared about 120 million years ago, molluscs around 500 million years ago, crustaceans (including woodlice) also emerged about 500 million years ago, and insects about 480 million years ago.

“Nature is very old,” concluded my young explorer. To continue our theme, I showed him a recently cut log and challenged him to estimate how long the branch had been growing.

Listening to Nature

The trees around us were alive with birdsong. I demonstrated how to identify bird calls using a bird song app – a modern tool for connecting with ancient natural rhythms.

Mary continued our exploration a few days later, using the bird song app to uncover her own natural discoveries.

An Invitation

As spring arrives, I hope this brief account encourages you to venture out with your children. Take a walk, explore, and don’t forget to capture the moments through photographs. Nature is a classroom waiting to be discovered.