Nature Journaling Program Builds Confidence, Exploration Skills

One of the best things families with children can do is spend time outdoors this summer. Exploring nature provides lifelong benefits, from increasing academic skills and competencies to improving both physical and mental health.

Those are just a few of the reasons Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has partnered with Darwin’s Dream and renowned area naturalist Carrie Elvey to conduct a family-focused nature journaling program this summer for local youth to participate in with their families.

“Just exposing children to a variety of natural environments can really develop a lot of new skills, like creative thinking and developing solutions that are outside of their typical surroundings,” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “Unfortunately, today’s world is not the same one we grew up in, and children have fewer and fewer opportunities to really spend time outdoors exploring in nature.”

This will be the second year Ashland SWCD has partnered with Elvey to host a Nature Journaling course in Ashland County. But while last year’s program was focused on adults and exploring the seasonality of the woods, this year’s program is designed to provide youth and their families with plenty of opportunities to work together and explore nature through woodland discoveries and hands-on art projects.

Research indicated today’s children are spending less time outdoors than ever—an average of just 4-7 minutes per day playing outside compared to over 7 hours per day in front of a screen. That lack of outdoor play results in children missing out on foundational experiences that can provide both physical and mental enrichment.

“Exploring outside and experiencing nature’s diversity really encourages children to develop an appreciation for the natural world around them and their place in it,” Houin said. “So for example, when children spend time exploring in the woods, it’s not only an opportunity to learn about the diversity of trees and plants in the woods, but they can learn more about wildlife who call the woods home and even explore the stream that runs through the Hazel Willis Woods.”

Houin says Walter Willis envisioned just those kinds of experiences when he donated 40-acres of woodlands near Mifflin to Ashland ASWC in loving memory of his wife. In fact, he specified that the land must be used as an outdoor educational laboratory for all ages.

Natural areas and green spaces like the Hazel Willis Woods are valuable community resources, because they protect and preserve soil, sequester carbon from the atmosphere and literally clean our air. Plus, they offer unlimited opportunities for your tp explore, imagine, create, and gain confidence.

And the Hazel Willis Woods provides plenty of opportunities for just that sort of exploration. The property contains a Loop Road that circles the perimeter of the 40 acres as well as a primitive cabin, garage, outhouses and a pavilion. Children can also try their hand at using a hand-pump water well or scout for wildlife at the woods’ spring tank.

“When kids are exploring in nature, they can take risks and stretch their limits,” Houin said. “Climbing on downed trees, exploring trails and splashing through streams are activities many of us may remember from our own childhoods, but many kids today don’t have those opportunities on a daily basis. Successfully navigating and conquering those risks can build confidence in ways that extends to other areas of their lives as well.”

Plus, Houin says those experiences are just fun for kids and relaxing for adults, too. Children who spend time playing outdoors are happier, better at paying attention and focusing, and less anxious than kids who spend more time indoors.

And as an added bonus, outdoor play encourages movement, too. No matter what kind of outdoor activity they are involved in, it almost always involves more exercise than sitting on a couch. That kind of exercise is not only good for kids’ bodies and physical health, but it helps those who struggle with paying attention and focusing as well.

As the school year wraps up, now is the perfect time to make plans to turn your family’s summer into one of exploration and wonder by spending time as a family nature journaling at the Hazel Willis Woods. Not only will you reap a multitude of physical and mental benefits, but you’ll make priceless memories and lay the foundation for a lifelong appreciation of nature as well.

The course will take place over seven weeks on Thursday evenings from 6-7:30 p.m.from June 15 through July 27. Registration is $150 per family and is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-nature-journaling-tickets   

Registration is limited to 20 families. For more information, contact Ruth McCrea at Ashland SWCD at 419-281-7645.