HS #85 2022.8.11
Natural Education
In the rotunda at the entrance of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is a quote from the scientist/inventor George Washington Carver, “Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books.” Interestingly, while Thomas Jefferson learned of nature via his extensive library, his fellow Founding Father Benjamin Franklin learned from nature itself through keen observation and myriad experiments.
As a child growing up on the outskirts of Des Moines Iowa, much of my early development came from exploring the ten acres of wild land behind the parsonage. My friend and I dug a fort which entertained the men of the church as they noted our progress each week. How much character development comes from digging a hole!
With that in mind, I bought the plot of wooded land with a stream behind my house on East 12th Street. It stands in contrast to the manicured designed parks all around us in Holland. Nothing wrong with them, but by their very design, children are meant to do activities that adults have intended for them.
On the other hand, in my backyard plot I am continually surprised by what the neighborhood children do – building forts out of logs and branches, zip lines, dams, paths. What a great place in a residential neighborhood for children to “own.”
Indeed, a running stream offers abundance of fun. How many times have I taken Hope College students and other friends to the stream that lies a half mile south of Laketown Beach. It’s just the right size for several ambitious souls to dam up, watch the water collect, and then destroy. The water movement and resulting formations of sand formed in a couple hours models geological structures built by rivers over eons.
My little backyard stream also attracts and sustains abundant wildlife to watch – steelhead, crayfish, opossums, woodchucks and occasional more exotic things. I’ve seen a fox pass by my backyard window.
The fact that we need such natural interaction can be seen in how we design our indoor environments. Those remodeling 19th century homes in Holland may find layers of colorful paint on the woodwork in their homes. Indeed, after working outside among the trees all day, bright colors were a nice change of pace. But now, largely removed from nature, we not only keep natural surfaces intact, but also design the plastic surfaces of cars and furniture with the appearance of natural wood.
In the U.S. we fare better than Europe. Several years ago, I took the Dutch son of the architect of the Hope College Kruizenga Art Museum with me for a trip to the Boundary Water Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota. As we passed out of Grand Rapids going north on US 131, he noted that this was the first time he had seen a “wild tree.” As with a wild animal, a wild tree is not intended and cared for by humans, but is there of its own accord. (The BWCA was a stretch for him – he stayed in his tent safe from mosquitos.)
Aristotle’s principle of moderation and the Golden mean can be applied to learning from nature. The Outdoor Discovery Center here in Holland is a great example. Children are given opportunity to play on manufactured playground items, but these are placed in a natural setting. I recently enjoyed watching my friend’s five-year-old scamper up the boulders and logs after each turn down the slide.
The collection of area parks - Holland State Park and our county parks - is another prime example where humans have designed areas to make them accessible and fairly safe while still offering opportunity for natural exploration. How fun it is to kayak up the Black River enjoying ducks, king fishers, and occasional osprey all within sight of Holland homes and businesses.
I say “fairly safe” because there is still a balance to find. Cushioned rubber mats and rounded edges on playground equipment prevent injuries, but do not teach children the natural consequences of taking risks. Understanding the risk of harm is helpful as children grow and hopefully fully engage in living lives of learning and adventure in the wild of nature.
Then our children can live their lives in the spirit of Carver, “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
