Seven-year-old Flora Arnsberger accompanied her dad, Matthew, on a woods walk with me several months ago. Knowing that her dad often took her on nature walks, I suggested that Flora be my “junior naturalist†assistant. She delighted us by finding things that we older folks were simply too big and preoccupied to notice.
Some weeks later, I mentioned to her dad that it would be fun if Flora would lead a few adults on an excursion to visit some of her favorite outdoor spaces. The response was that Flora wanted to show us the special places in her own yard, tucked away in one of Carrboro’s many wooded neighborhoods.
Our special spring tour was filled with surprises and provided us with opportunities to share her sense of wonder.
Early on in our walkabout, she described being happy outdoors because “there are so many things to discover in nature.â€
With enthusiasm, she led us into a favorite secret place in the woods edge. We had barely crawled in and seated ourselves into a hidden shrub-canopied room before Flora excitedly moved through a narrow opening into another secret shrub nook.
I was completely captivated as she demonstrated how choices were determined by touching the ends of specific branches, and the final delivery of selections occurred at the end of a particular larger branch.
This was Flora’s special McDonald’s nature drive-through. Flora’s mom explained that since she rarely gets to visit McDonald’s, it is a special event for her. It seemed so appropriate for Flora to move McDonald’s into her more comfortable world of nature.
At one point, she disappeared into the house, returning quickly with a wire coat hanger, which she pulled into a squarish circle and tossed across the yard. She instructed us to follow and gaze into her magic “Door to Nature.â€
“Let’s see how many things we can find,†she said, and we all knelt down to peer into that magic round door on the ground. During the next several minutes, back and forth across the yard, we discovered a great many tiny flowers, leaf shapes and crawling critters.
At one “door,†she proceeded to poke down through the leaf litter, describing decomposing leaves as she went. She invited us to imagine what year each leaf had fallen.
“See this one? That fell last year. And down here is a piece of leaf that goes back to 2004 or maybe even 2003.â€
Flora’s “Door to Nature†is a magical way to take a closer look!
We visited many special places in Flora’s outdoor world. I particularly remember one for which her expression was most joyous. It was a small evergreen magnolia hiding a round stepping stone from which she launched herself upward.
“See; you can climb it.â€
All children deserve a tree to climb.
I have reflected a good bit on that walk with Flora. She is so fortunate that her mom and dad introduced her to nature early in life. Older now and in school, she is being challenged by the expectations and limitations of our human prejudiced world. Flora, who explained that she wants to be a microbiologist, is wonderfully creative and still filled with wonder, so obviously nurtured by her years of play and discovery outdoors. I suspect that she will relocate more than McDonald’s into her magical outdoors environment.
If you have or know some children, take them outdoors, often, and encourage them to wonder and discover. And don’t think having a sense of wonder is just for kids. Get yourself outdoors and look into your own “Door to Nature!â€