Experiencing nearby nature

Experiencing nearby nature. Instructor with the Toronto Botanical Garden’s Sprouts Club, John Hayes, left, works with Sam Hitchcock, 3, and his mother Jody Hitchcock in one of the planting plots at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Staff photo/DAN PEARCE

"I thought this would be a way to get involved with nature - at a kid level," said Hitchcock after mom and Sam spent the summer gardening at home.

Taking the time to connect with nature in a group setting has built Sam's confidence, said Hitchcock. "In the summer he was a little leery about insects. Since he's been able to play with them a little more at the Sprout Club, he's stopped being afraid of them. Except spiders. Those still scare him."

A nature-based activity is also a learning experience too, she said. "It's magic, but it's also science."

She said Sam has been picking up worms that are used for compost. "He has this whole snippet of science in his head in how worms create really good dirt for the garden."

Getting parent and tot to connect with nature does not have to be a complex task, this mom found; it can be as simple as a few dry plants.

"There might be a bin with water, water is also nature, some watering cans and dried out plants that need water. All the little kids can do that. They all like to fill buckets and dump them," Hitchcock said.

It is programs such as this one that professor Cheryl Charles, president and CEO of U.S.-based Children and Nature Network, said are important because many parents have fears and anxiety about sending their children outdoors to play. This trend is called nature-deficit disorder, which was coined by author Richard Louv, co-founder of the Children and Nature Network.

"Parents today tend to be afraid for their children's safety outdoors in nature - from fear of strangers to fear of the unknown," Charles said in an email interview.

"The fears are overstated, but that does not make them any less real in the minds and hearts of parents. We need to develop new kinds of opportunities for parents to feel comfortable letting their children have these enriching, empowering, healthy play and learning experiences in nature-based outdoor settings. That is one reason we encourage nature clubs for families," she said.

Charles noted it is important for children and families to have direct time in nature for many reasons: overall health and well-being; family bonding; stress reduction; healthy development for the children in cognitive, emotional, social and physical ways; and it's fun.

It is parents and caregivers who play the biggest role in fostering that sense of fun and wonder about the Earth. The botanical garden's club is such a place, said John Hayes, an instructor at this popular program for kids aged six months to three years. "It's about fun, laughing and enjoying nature."

He said it's important to build a real appreciation of nature when children are very young, "so they feel confident in nature. So they will care about it a bit more. And it starts right at the very beginning."

For families growing up in a city, children don't get to experience nature; the key is to "focus on nearby nature - not looking at things way out in the deep woods, but just looking at squirrels, chipmunks, pigeons and dandelions. These things are all around us, even in the city," Hayes said.

Adults sometimes feel intimidated about interacting with nature with their kids, Hayes said, because they feel they have to be an expert on trees and butterflies. "But really, it's better not to be an expert and to encourage adults to learn with their children and go at it with a beginner's mind - a child's mind."

Rouge Park, an urban wilderness park partly located in Scarborough, is one way to experience nearby nature.

Sheryl Santos, stewardship co-ordinator with Rouge Park, said there are a lot of ways to get close to nature even if you've never stepped into the woods before.

"Just listen to your backyard and listen to the nature that's out there," she recommended.

These types of experiences are important for those living in urban settings, she said. "There are so many new people coming into the country that it's a really good opportunity for them because places where they are coming from, nature may be seen differently, it may be seen as scary, or a good resource. We want to teach them about how we think of nature and how we want to respect that."

While you don't need to attend a nature-themed event to get close to Mother Nature, it does help build a closer bond with the environment. Santos fondly recalled her first tree planting event: "It's kind of like your baby. I want to see it grow up. Depending on the site, you can go back and see how your trees are progressing. Once the forest gets established and once your tree (that small shrub you planted) 20 years ago, has saplings, you feel responsible for it. You feel good about yourself. You reconnected with nature because of that."

Getting nature to visit your backyard is as simple as setting up a bird feeder, according to David Renaud, owner of Birdwatch Nature Shopppe on Avenue Road. For 95 per cent of city residents, "bird watching has to do with their backyard and the birds that come to feed," he said.

"What bird feeders do, at least within your own backyard, is it brings nature to people," says the avid birder, who's been feeding birds for 30 years.

"If you feed them, they will come. It's a no-brainer," said Renaud, who sells premium birdseed at his shop. Living in the city he still gets chickadees, goldfinches, house sparrows and a variety of other birds visiting his feeders.

It's just like a restaurant; who comes through the door has everything to do with what's being offered, he said. "Once birds know that there's food available they will check it out."

And it does not have to be complicated to attract birds to your backyard. A bird feeder can be a tray. You can throw birdseed on the ground and hope to attract birds, he said.

And many times it's a taste of nearby nature - in urban and suburban settings - that can get children and parents to reconnect with the great outdoors.

According to Charles, "The first thing to do is open the door - and make having fun together outdoors as a family a priority. It doesn't cost money - it takes time."