Exploring Nature

'Here we have Haliotis midae' I announced as I held up a polished perlemoen shell. The group' faces went blank and Amanda burst out laughing. She had frequently been on at me that most of the time I spoke too academically, especially when there were lots of children in the group.

So the challenge was to loosen up on the terminology and improve on the story. Standing in front of a group of kids and their parents at the start of a busy season Moonlight Meander, a gull calling overhead gave me some inspiration. Finding Nimo: and so the Nimo school started, mostly packed with the challenge of keeping the information captivating and handling questions from 6 to 8 children simultaneously. The only measure of success are the repeated requests to guide families with children on other walks in the Garden Route.

It is simultaneously fun, stimulating and most definitely challenging. Children in nature are constantly querying everything that they see. They are uninhibited to touch something or pick it up to watch it's reaction. In short they are sponges for information irrespective of age.

I recall a group of teenagers on our 5 day coastal walk. Their attention seemed to be anywhere but on the trail. Everytime we stopped to discuss one of natures creations they seemed focused on texting on their mobiles or were plugged into their Ipods. Yet in the evenings when we reviewed the highlights of the day it always a pleasant surprise to have each of them be able to recall details of five organisms seen during the day.

In particular, on the last evening we were star gazing and discussing a summary of the stars when one girl cut in and gave a detailed discourse of the constellations. It was her hobby and we all learnt from her. And I learnt that teenagers can multi task very well.

Then there are the little geniuses : kids that study online, watch every National Geographic and Discovery Channel broadcast then read 3 chapters of an encyclopedia before doing their homework.

Tim was one such kid. Only 7 years old he was a bundle of endless energy running around picking up shells, feathers, drift wood and plough shells, always with the inevitable questions relating to each item. Wanting to test him I asked why Polar Bears do not eat penguins a question that provides some interesting natural insights with few correct answers from most people. Tim blinked, shook his head as if I was demented and immediately answered correctly 'because the bears live in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic'.

But it is the fun with kids in nature that is the most memorable. Recently walking the Woodcutters Trail with a family, the unimpeded excitement of exploring the forest made it come alive despite the impact of the drought. Bushpig droppings were picked up and crushed to determine age, spiders webs were poked for reaction, scrapings in the ground were kneeled around to workout which animal had made it and leaves collected to compare shapes.

Yet it was when we found a leopard scat and scratch marks on a tree that the kids went into orbit. The questions flew (Answers were not important or listened to) and every tree for the next kilometer was vigorously inspected for scratch marks. When a Knysna Turaco called they stopped and scanned the forest, willing a leopard to appear.

Finishing the walk, we did not see a leopard and the kids were not disappointed. In fact, in their minds they had seen a dozen leopards and forever would remember their walk in the forest. It must have made an impression because all 5 kids said it was the best thing they had done during their two week Christmas holiday.

So get you kids into nature and let them live. Let them learn. Let them explore. If you want more details of our guided nature outings for family and school outings visit www.gardenroutetrail.co.za