Now, more than ever before, children in our modern world need ‘vitamin N’, time to slow down, and self direction!
Spending time immersing in real nature is such an unheard of experience in our urban communities these days. Having a walk outside, playing footy on an oval, maybe if you’re lucky riding a bike, is all well and good (though too few children even do these), but when was the last time your child got muddy, climbed a tree, dug in the leaf litter, buried themselves in sand at the beach and rock-hopped in bare feet? This is something I offer children in the ‘burbs for their well being as an after-school program. If these trigger panic as a parent, what were you doing during your childhood? If you didn’t do any of these things, what did your parents do in their childhood? Perhaps it was only 3 generations ago that these things were a normal part of growing up in your family…
It’s now come to light with Western Science (though its always been known by our First Peoples and their science) that our immunity and our mind-gut system are boosted and our cortisol lowered (stress hormone) by breathing in good microbes, volatile oils from plants, the negative ions from waves crashing on the shore or rain in a thunderstorm. By inoculating our skin and gut with the good microbes to help digestion and fight disease we can prevent depression, anxiety, gut-related diseases like asthma, excema, allergies.
My weekly after-school programs at Elwood Primary School and St Kilda Park Primary School are child-led and determined by knowledge of place, seasonal changes and weather conditions. My young participants decide as a group (there are mixed ages but everyone gets an equal vote) whether to go to the local beachside, nature reserves, lakes or canals and what they will do there and on the way. Sometimes we never reach our intended destination as something exciting is discovered along the way (once they decided to bury a found dead cat and the weather suddenly turned stormy) and so guardians are notified where pickup will be with a pin drop on a Google Map. The anticipation of returning to places of shared memories and experiences is a joy to behold, and I’m sure these children will be telling their children of their after school adventures in years to come.
In this day an age of time-tables, computer games, over-loaded schedules, car rides, why not reconsider if your child would be better off with open-ended play and immersion in the wild places of their neighbourhood. Sign up here: www.naturelovers.melbourne/enrol
Naturelovers 