Turning a Family Walk into a Learning Adventure

Copper River Record  June 2017
By Robin Mayo
Now that summer has finally arrived, there is so much for kids of all ages to do and learn outdoors.  Research has shown that time outdoors is essential to all of us, for our mental and physical health.  A family walk can combine exercise, together time, and hands-on learning. Weather exploring one of our local trails, public lands, or your own backyard, here are some ideas for your next outing.
Adopt a Tree  Choose an individual tree to identify and get to know.  With just seven kinds of indigenous trees in the Copper Basin (White Spruce, Black Spruce, Balsam Poplar, Quaking Aspen, Birch, Alder, and several species of Willow,) learning to identify them is not hard. A handy online guide can be found at  http://www.alaska.org/expert-advice/trees.  Kids love to give trees silly names, inspect bark and leaves with magnifying glasses, hug them, climb them, and return to watch their friend change with the seasons and the years. 
Forest Perfume  Bring along small cups for each explorer to collect small bits of aromatic plants, creating their own distinctive forest perfume.  Spruce needles, yarrow, and balsam poplar leaves are a good start.  Crush the leaves or needles between your fingers to release the scent, then mix your favorite flavors in the cup.
Egg Carton Collection  Very young children like to sort their tiny forest finds into the cups of an egg carton.  For readers, write descriptive words such as shiny, prickly, smelly, and fuzzy on small pieces of paper and put them in the egg cups, then challenge your explorer to find something for each description.
Temporary Art Projects  Collect and arrange natural objects into temporary art installations.  Stones, leaves, flowers, cones, and other found natural objects can be rearranged where you find them. Draw in the dirt or sand with sticks, sculpt with mud.  You can also paint with water on dry rocks, using a paintbrush or just your fingertips, enjoying how the masterpiece fades before your eyes.  For a more permanent but still natural painting, use different colors of mud, berry juice, crushed leaves, and whatever else you can find. Take a picture of the creations, then scatter them, or leave behind to gently blend back into the landscape.
Tiny Houses  When my kids were small they would create tiny  houses, towns, zoos,  and gardens using what they found on the forest floor.  At home, they would be elaborate masterpieces that were carefully tended all summer.  Kids like to leave their mark on the world, and this is a non-destructive way to channel that energy when hiking or camping.  And who knows, perhaps a lucky vole or spider will find shelter in the custom home. 
Group Poems  At a rest stop, ask each member of the group to describe something they can see, hear, smell, or feel.  Write down the phrases, then arrange into a poem to read back to the group later.
Be safe and enjoy every moment of our sweet, short summer.  The schedule of summer WISE activities is at www.wise-edu.org.  
                                 
                                                Fifteen People Floating on the Water
                           -Group Poem by WISE/BLM Aquatic Ecology Camp 2016-
 
                                                       Silver Lake with silver water
                                                                      Warm Water
                                                                       Dark Clouds
                                                            Tippy aluminum boat
                                               See the texture of the dirt on a boot
                                                     Hear the rushing of the water
                                                       Fish flashing and splashing
                                         Smell the old that lives within a life jacket
                                                               Taste the saltiness
                                         And leftover flavors of a breakfast burrito
                                          Curious Grey Jays playing hide and seek
                                                             Something Sparkling
                                                      See and feel the calm water
                                                       The emptiness of this place
                                             Sweet reflections whisper adventure

​A temporary art project which was created at a lunch stop with natural materials.