Childhood, fun, forest & magic
This post was submitted to the #NatureForAll Storytelling Festival. It is posted here with the permission of the authors.
Written by Juarez Michelotti
—
Based in Brazil, Juarez is a forest engineer, specialist in biodiversity management and conservation. He has more than two decades of experience in environmental education, interpretation and protected area management. He shares how he fell in love with nature at a young age and his relationship with his daughter. He highlights the importance of child’s contact with nature and the magic that unfolds once given the chance to explore.
Before going to sleep, my 4-year-old daughter asked me to tell her a new story. She was tired of the magic from Jack and the Beanstalk, and of the walk in the forest that Little Red Riding Hood decided to take to get to her grandmother’s house before dark. She wasn’t willing to listen to how the twelve princesses crossed a forest and a river, every night, to dance and have fun while the king was sleeping.
“Oh boy!! Come up with something!!” That’s the hardest thing! Just like when someone says: “tell me a joke!” and you black-out and can’t remember any. I took a deep breath and decided to share a story that she never heard before. It was not a fairytale, but a story that was pieced together by moments, people and places she could relate to. A unique story full of fun, forests, and magic. I was going to tell her about her dad’s story!
That night, beside my curious daughter, I had the chance to review how my personal and professional paths lead me to becoming a forester, and an environmental educator, but most of all it made me understand that my family fostered my strong connection with nature. My childhood experiences nurtured my great passion for the forests, and it guided my career. I realized that our experiences as kids can help shape our lives! You see, my brother and I did not suffer from “nature deficit disorder”. We were fortunate to be raised on a ranch in Brazil with a big garden, a hen house, two dogs, and a backyard full of candelabra trees, the southern Brazilian pine tree (when fully grown, its canopy is shaped as a candle tree, or as I like to say: as a glass of wine). That was my childhood rainforest, my magic forest, with a great understory layer… a place where I was able to create my own stories. There, two trees were the entrance of a spaceship that took around to different planets. In other days, those same trees would be the entrance of my aunt’s house, and from there on I would be not myself, but one of my cousins. My magic forest took me into places and adventures around unknown worlds while it was connecting me to the essence of nature.
This made me sure that I did not suffer from “nature deficit disorder”, a non-medical term coined by Richard Louv in his book Last child in the woods. Louv brought attention to how today’s children are spending less and less time outdoors, which has deep consequences for their health and overall well-being. He talks about several studies demonstrating that children do physically and emotionally better when they have access to green spaces. Louv suggests that for children, spending time outside promotes positive feelings, reduces stress, and can lead to a greater ability to focus.
Louv’s book turned out to be a landmark and inspired the creation of the nowadays global Children & Nature Network. In Brazil the sister network is called Criança e Natureza, and it gathers diverse initiatives, researchers, and professionals (such as pediatricians) that advocate for more contact with nature.
My mom used to tell the story that my brother and I had a pediatrician that gave us a “nature prescription” – way before Louv’s book, back in the early 80s. The doctor instructed my mother:
“Your children need more than just sunlight streaming in from the apartment’s window. They must be outside, playing with dirt.”
I must admit, our Doctor was right! One of my most memorable moments as a kid was behind our ranch’s wooden house, on a rainy day, playing in a muddy little reservoir I had created with the water dripping from the side of the roof. I remember my mom… how did she say it? … “If you don’t get out of that mud puddle you will have to wash your muddy clothes.” Was she angry? Anyways, I did wash that day! One happy wet and muddy child I was, and I had lots of fun!
Louv was also right because my childhood experiences in my magical forest and in that mud puddle/reservoir shaped my professional career, and I turned out to be a Professional Forester and a passionate Environmental Educator. My main professional goal was (and still is!) to encourage more people to get involved with the forests – to enjoy it, to learn about it, to conserve it.
As a father, a forester and an environmental educator I was surprised to realize that my passions and concerns are addressed by organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). An institution that is comprised of professionals, specialists, and researchers from around the world, and that is considered by the United Nation’s (UN) as one of its official observers. The IUCN’s Commission of Education and Communication has specific initiatives and reports stating the importance of children’s and youth’s connections with nature.
So, you see, this is not merely another “dad’s talk”, but a concept, or a theory grounded in academic studies that reflects the benefits provided by children’s outdoor and nature experiences.
And there I was, at night, telling stories by my daughter’s bedside about my deep connections with nature.
Yes, it is important to story tell and to share our experiences, but more than just talking about, it is crucial to self-reflect and continuously question ones’ self: “How can I provide meaningful experiences to my little ones?”
You might not even have to go too far. Think about: “Where is the closest park? The closest natural area? When can I take my kid to be outside?”
Go! Present it to them. Discover together. Enjoy the outdoors!
It’s our task, as parents, to introduce the magic of the forests, the fun of playing in the dirt, the adventures of crossing a river, before and after dark, into our kid’s childhoods.
In times of multimedia, screens here and there, we must find a balance, and diversify experiences that will help them build their own future, their own passions.
But by now, my daughter is in her deep sleep, dreaming of magical worlds… while I dream awake, remembering and returning to my magical childhood in a magic fun forest.