Nature Nuts

Guest Post by Nicholas WazeeGale, Nature Nuts Camp Instructor

Hello Dear Campers!

It is a big old bummer that we won't be doing any camps at the KVR together this summer. I will miss seeing you all and roaming the grounds by the Visitor Center and getting to see the world up close through your clear youthful eyes! The good news is that the amazing natural world we all cherish is still around us for exploration and discovery. We just need to make some time and get out there.

I thought I would send you some ideas and remind you of all that we love to do during our Nature Nuts weeks so that you and your families can make the most of the summer. Here goes the greatest hits as I recall:

Swimming and Creek Walking! 

Nothing makes a hot day enjoyable like water, and we have lots of it around. Favorite places where we have all loved to explore water have been down at the little creek under the footbridge behind the Visitor Center, and swimming in the river down there (with life jackets and adults!) and also walking back to Weister Creek behind "Ma and Pa's" campsite on Hwy P. Also there is lots of good swimming, wading and creature catching to be had at the new Weister Creek project further up Hwy P from Ma and Pa's campsite.

Hiding and Seeking! 

Games like Hide and Seek, Camouflage, and Fox and Rabbit are easy to adapt to any site. You can hide in your backyard or the local woodlot or even in your own living room and not even be noticed if you observe where people look and don't look. Just don't get carried away and scare your parents too badly. See if a brother or sister or parent will play in the backyard and see how creative you can get. Or a park in town! And the next time you are taking a walk in the woods take turns running ahead and hiding just off the trail and see if you are noticed and what works and what doesn't. (It is, of course, always good to let your parents know where you're are heading off to, and always be aware of plants and insects you need to be careful of like wild parsnip!)

Exploring Natural Spaces.

Nothing feels more like summer in the Driftless area than finding and eating raspberries right off the cane or sneaking up on a katydid making its insect music. And nothing makes us feel like we are part of the natural world like following our curiosity into wild places. Go take a walk with your parents, a sibling, or just yourself (after telling your parents you are going!) in a natural area like the KVR with the purpose of exploring and following your curiosity. Get off the path in an open area of forest or a meadow and see if you can find some insects. Look for crayfish under stones in a creek. Explore the pond edges for frogs, dragonfly larvae, rare plants, diving beetles, or snakes. Crawl into a thick area of brush and look for animal sign where no human has gone for years. Look for something of interest and follow it! Adventure awaits. Just remember to be safe and respect those whose homes you are visiting.

Games of the Earth

Our days at KVR are always filled with good games that show us more about the wild world around us in fun and playful ways. Remember Meet a Tree? Being blindfolded and led to tree in a confusing way and then led away to have to find your tree by what you felt and remembered? You can partner with anyone! Or Secret Animal Identity where you and a friend have an animal ID on your back and have to ask each other yes/no questions to find out who you are? You can play the related "20 questions" with animals too for sharpening your awareness of local animals. We do it in the car regularly. Lastly there is the fun of Animal Charades in which we have to hold our guesses while someone tries to impersonate all that they know of how an animal moves, views its environment, eats its food, where it goes in its world, and how it reacts to things. What good learning and fun to become your favorite animals! Try it out in your yard with your family and see what local animals you can impersonate!

Study of Birds, Plants, Trees, Animals and Insects.

Another thing that we all love doing and learning in Nature Nuts is studying up on all the wonderful life that surrounds us. From in the ground to the tree tops and sky above, from the marshy ponds to the nearest rotting log, our wild world is filled with life forms of every shape and size, doing their thing and living their lives. What are you interested in learning more about? There are many ways to read up and learn more on your favorite organisms, and we live in an area where you should be able to get out and look for them, see them, observe them and do some drawing of and even writing about them. And if you are seeking the elusive bobcat and not having luck, don't forget to enjoy the flowering yarrow, the nearby ant colony, the swallowtail butterfly and all the more easily observed wonders of nature as you wait! The magic of the Earth is in all of them and we can learn so much from them all if we are observant and patient.

Lastly, I would just like to leave you with remembering that the woods are a special and rejuvenating place that hold many secrets and gifts for you. Remember this and if you are feeling grumpy, bumpy or out of sorts, take yourself to the nature spa nearest you:
the woods! Go take a seat, watch the show, see who comes to visit, and see if you don't feel better when you come back to the busy world of people. People all around the world have stories of the woods making them feel better and guiding them to a better sense of themselves and greater health and happiness. Just get out there however you can, nature is everywhere, and enjoy the gift of chatty birds, hopping insects, tall green trees and all the wonder we are so surrounded by in this area of the world.

Good Luck and Great Discoveries to you! And feel free to send us your reports!

Note: For more information about Nicholas's life and work and additional great words of wisdom, check out his Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/nicholas.wazee.gale/