Connecting to the earth, getting grubby, being surrounded by sound, smelling and seeing the weirdly wonderful as well the boringly normal. These are the simple elements of timeless adventures we can all enjoy every day. But do we?
Our thoughts and feelings about our world, our place in it, and our future are shaped by many experiences and adventures. Sometimes a childish or childhood experience can shape our entire lives.
On Sunday 22 September 2019 it is possible a child’s life may be changed, perhaps forever, by a sight, a smell, a sound, or a feeling in a forest.
As part of the Big Scrub Day and Biodiversity Month celebrations Gordon Fraser from the NSW Government Saving our Species Program will walk, crawl and imagine his way through a forest with kids at the Lismore Rainforest Botanic Garden.
A morning session and an afternoon session will be convened where kids, with their nominated adult in tow, folks from 5 to 105, will experience and wonder about the wonder of nature in the regenerating forest. Prickly, tickly, nosey, noisy are some of the themes Gordon and the kids and adults will explore.
In preparing for the activities Gordon is reflecting on his own childhood and his career in working for a better world. He recalls that too often we rush about, not stopping to just sit, smell, look, listen or feel the earth. This loss of calm that can disconnect us from earth and mask what we truly are, animals, just like all the other animals with which we share the earth.
We retreat from the environment and move rapidly in cars and buses and planes, from one cave (house), to another cave (school), then to another cave (shops) too often not stopping to stand or sit in or on the earth outside, in the sun, the wind, the rain, the darkness of night or the brightness of day.
The emotional and physical benefits of connecting with nature are well known. These activities will provide a way for children and adults to share nature, discuss their experiences and record their adventures in writing, photos and shared story telling.
Even seasoned campers and bushwalkers, long term land carers and veteran volunteers can benefit from the simple joy of crawling like a spider, listening to a tree bark, smelling dirt, feeling textures with toes as well as with fingers. It is through this ongoing connection to the natural world we can gather strength and confidence for a positive future for our natural world.
Could it be you, your child, your grandchild, your parent, your grandparent that could reconnect with earth and be forever changed on Sunday 22 September as part of the Big Scrub Rainforest Day? It’s something to wonder about. Bookings for the activities are essential. Contact gordon.fraser@environment.nsw.gov.au or 0455 093 631.
