It was a glorious autumn day. With my son on my back and my daughter on my shoulders, I hiked up to one of the most beautiful spots I know. There on the crest of a granite outcropping, I could see sunlight dancing on the surface of a distant lake, the green smooth hills stretched out before me and a hawk wheeling high in a cloud flecked sky. It was breathtaking and I marvelled at the beauty before me.
But when I looked over at my children, they were hunkered down. Intently watching a line of ants marching by. It turns out that children have a more contracted view of the world, and they tend to notice what is right there in front of them. They have an incredible eye for detail and often spot things that we adults miss. Here are a few simple activities that helps both you and your children celebrate the very small in the natural world.
Create a micro trail
Einstein once said:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is the language of the soul. Pay attention to your imagination and you will discover all you need to be fulfilled.”
With your imagination, you can gain a whole new appreciation for the natural world. So, using the power of your imagination, shrink yourself down to the size of an ant. What would the forest look like if you were only a fraction of an inch tall? What points of interest might capture your attention? Perhaps a funny-coloured mushroom, a chewed leaf, or an interesting groove on a fallen log? Try this:
- Get 10 to 20 Popsicle sticks and about 30 feet (10 meters) of colourful yarn. Using these simple materials, create a micro-trail. Find at least eight points of interest no more than a few steps from each other. You might find an interesting hole in the ground, a spider’s web, or an animal track.
- Beside each point of interest, press a Popsicle stick into the ground. Connect all the points with the yarn by wrapping it a couple of times around each stick and extending the string to your next Popsicle stick until all points are joined in one long line. This becomes your micro-trail. When you are finished, sit down and quietly watch the trail for a few minutes. Then, get down on your hands and knees and take a trip along the trail, keeping your head close to the ground. Better still, use a magnifying glass or a hand lens and really study things up close. Take someone special to your micro-trail and give them a guided tour of your discoveries.
Basement Windows
Much of what goes on in the world is hidden from view. There is a magical underworld replete with tiny dragons, earth-boring submarines, and shape shifters. All you need to do is peek! To discover these special places, simply venture into a forest. Before you go, provide each person with a magnifying glass if possible and a small container (glass jar, yogurt container, or bug jar).
Ask your participants to carefully lift up a rock or a log and look underneath. These are the windows into the world below. You might be lucky enough to spot a salamander (looks a bit like a very small dragon) or a plump earthworm (these have the capability of plunging down deep just like a submarine). You might even see a pill bug, a tiny crustacean that rolls up into a tight ball when threatened (a shape-shifter). What magical creatures can you find? What are they and how do they help to maintain a healthy and diverse forest ecosystem?
- Can you spot the “wood wide web?” Look for tiny threads, minuscule filaments of a fungal organism that wrap themselves in and around tree roots. This “mycorrhizal network” helps to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals between trees. In this way trees can “talk” to each other through these fungal networks.
- Earthworms help to aerate the soil and provide nutrients with their castings (worm poo). Thousands of fungi, bacteria, millipedes, and pill bugs decompose leaves, branches, and wood, helping to create rich and fertile soil. Many beetles and their larvae are an important food source for mammals, amphibians, and birds.
- If you can, have everyone carefully scoop their critter discoveries into a container. Have each participant sit in a circle facing inward. On a given signal, have everyone pass their container to the right at the same time. Ask one of the questions posed below then pass your critter again to the right. Continue this pattern. Here are some sample questions. Feel free to ask your own. How does your critter move?
- Can you see it breathing?
- Insects have compound eyes (or many little eyes bunched into one eye). Can you see your critter’s eyes?
- Examine your critter’s mouth parts. What do you think it eats? Does it have chomping parts (like a grasshopper), sucking parts (like a mosquito), sponge parts (like a housefly) or biting parts (like a deerfly)?
- How many body segments does your critter have? A true insect has a head, a thorax (middle part), and an abdomen (stomach). A spider only has two body parts and therefore is not an insect (it is an arachnid).
- Is your critter camouflaged? Think about where you found it.
- How might your critter protect itself?
- What do you think your critter is? If you can, have an insect field guide handy as a resource.
Please place back your critters exactly where you found them. Don’t forget to gently close your window, being careful not to squish or harm your critters.
What small wonders can you discover?
