Learning about the Great Outdoors

For those of you who are just getting started learning about nature, I have gathered together some tips and resources to aid you on your journey to becoming a naturalist.  

Work through your own fears

 

I think it is extremely important to be able to work through your fears of nature whether it be phobias of insects, spiders, snakes, or alligators.  There certainly may be dangerous creatures outdoors, but we just have to be able to be aware of our surroundings and continue to push forward.  For example, we are always finding black widow spiders outside as well as inside our house and we have always educated the children on what they look like as well as not to try to pick them up.  So, when the little girls were playing outside gathering weeds for their “salad,” I gently reminded them to just be aware of their surroundings.  I can’t emphasize enough the importance of not transferring your own paranoia to  your children.  As you know, they are very impressionable and will quickly “learn” and possibly be invaded by your phobias unnecessarily. Really, all we can do is make du’a to Allah for their protection and keep living.  The more you exposure yourself and your children to Allah’s creation, they more you both will become comfortable with it and not afraid of it.

Do Your Research

Even though my undergraduate degree was in biology, I have to admit that almost everything I have learned about the natural world has occurred on our own since we began homeschooling our children.  The curiosity and interest has always been there for me, but the bottom line is that you have to go outside and self educate yourself and your family. It is very difficult if not impossible to learn about nature solely from books.  I suggest if at all possible purchasing as many field guides as you can.  Most of the field guides in our ever-growing library were bought second-hand from library sales and flea markets as well as on sale at the local book stores.  As for brands, the National Audubon Society publishes a series of simple and straightforward field guides for the novice on mammals, birds, reptiles, wildflowers, fishes, trees, shells, night sky, weather, and amphibians.

In addition to those resources, I think it is also helpful to know where to find natural places to visit as well as experts in the field in which to network.  Many times doing an online search for your local and state parks and recreation department will put you open up a world of opportunity for you.  Quite often, there are naturalist classes for homeschoolers available.  These type of classes have been very informative for my children as well as myself along the way in our nature study. I have witnessed the positive influence these type of outdoor classes and workshops have had on my children even to this day. In addition to those places, I suggest looking into botanical gardens as another place to visit on a regular basis.  Get to know the staff for they are more than willing to give an impromptu lesson or two. For the past several years, my children and I have been members at our local botanical gardens and we all have benefited beyond belief from it.  Our knowledge of botany has greatly increased from regular trips to the garden which was another of my weak areas in science.

Documenting Your Journey

One of the most traditional methods of documenting your findings is the journal method with sketching and taking notes.  My family has found photography as another rewarding way to document and later research the flora and fauna we have come across.  I have also created PowerPoint presentations of our discoveries and also blogged about much of it.  There are many ways to have fun with the documenting aspect of a study just as they are many ways to learn anything.  Take this opportunity to continue to be creative and think outside the box.  I don’t believe there is a wrong way to study nature.  And as a motto in another recommended book Fun with Nature states, “Don’t worry.  Take your time and have fun.”