This summer I led a nature program at a camp in southern California. Among other activities I would lead several nature walks every day, each time with a new group of kids. These kids mostly grew up in Los Angeles county and some were unenthused, if not downright scared, by exploring nature.
To me, one of the most cringe-worthy statements that leaves a child's mouth is "I hate _______". Be it snakes, spiders, dirt, mud, etc. Let me tell you, I heard it a lot at camp. Children tend to be pretty quick to judge what they don't understand,. The good news is, they are quick to turn around as well. This statement creates a teachable moment, and a little bit of information can go a long way here.
Before leaving on these walks I would briefly address the fact that everything in nature is connected in ways we don't always see at first glance. On the walk it was pretty typical to hear many complaints about flies buzzing near their ears. Then, inevitably, we would run into a spider. The reactions varied: some children were petrified, others disgusted, one or two wanted to step on it or get me to. I would first remind the children that the spider is outside, we are in its home, so we should leave it alone. Besides, this type of spider is harmless to humans. In fact, it is on our team: it is working hard to get rid of those pesky flies. You can take it a step farther and say that spiders are food for birds, so we need them to have beautiful birds around. The kids I talked to generally knew these things from class, but had never connected it to the actual world around them
It is easy to get people in general to care about what we call "charismatic megafauna" (basically, if it's cute and looks cuddly.) It is more difficult to work on the rest, especially if we ourselves are not very comfortable with the animal in question. No matter what we think of it though, it's important to instill in our children the respect for life.
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