Sunday, December 4, 2011

Teen Nature

Today I went to a coming of age nature program that my friend runs. It was beautiful weather, I could hardly believe it's December (my friend was in sandals!)

We had a couple cool projects. For one we collected pine boughs for wreaths. Some of the teens had a hard time getting engaged in the activity, but for the most part they were very enthusiastic and creative. I think this was because the adults in the program gave them a lot of leeway to express themselves (read "be silly"). This might have helped generate creative energy which could then be channeled, rather than try to keep them on task and wind up in a low energy state.

We were careful not to collect too many boughs from any given tree. However, not a lot of our boughs were used in the actual project, so next week we are going to discuss other ways to use them, out of respect for the trees.

Our other project was to create wind chimes out of Japanese knotweed (an invasive plant that one could argue resembles bamboo).

See the distinct sections along the stalk?

One girl (who gained my immediate interest based on her fervor) decide she wanted to turn it into a flute. She spent the entire project working and whittling trying to figure out how. She was so excited when I got my flute to work, proving it was possible. By the end of the day she had a little whistle, and was very keen to tell me everything that she tried that helped or hindered her effort. I love the spark in that one!

Now I have a half-finished wreath to accomplish. Maybe the little lady and the young gentleman will help me after school tomorrow...