A Need to Notice Nature

4 September

Yesterday, I posted here a commentary on the seeming lack of ability of people to notice wildlife and plants as they walk around - often in parks and forests, yet they still don’t “notice” what’s under their noses. Even worse, the paucity of children out in the open air turning over rocks to see what’s underneath.

Turns out I am not alone in worrying about this. Here are some comments I received, all with the same concerns:

Thanks for the post, Richard...it really made me think. I recall the delights of being a kid discovering the natural world... maybe we adults need to relive those times in order to pass it along to the next generations. So here's to all of us turning over more rocks, getting dirt under our nails, and sharing the wonder of nature with kids of all ages!
– Fiona Murray

I remember many years ago - 35! - I was teaching at a nature centre. We had a group of inner-city elementary students that week, many new immigrants to Canada. One asked the same question: did we buy the animals to put them in the trees for them to see? (we'd seen a raccoon and a porcupine and squirrels). But even more surprising to me was a walk my husband and I did with a couple we were friends with, same age as us. A suburban park (again, this was 40+ years back) - along the way we found a garter snake, and a frog, and a few other things, probably some birds -- and one of the couple said 'Walks are a lot more interesting when you're along." Everything, of course, was there anyhow -- they just didn't look.
– Marian L Thorpe

So true! As children we were taken on walks almost daily by our parents or an uncle or aunt and learned so much without effort. We were also encouraged to play outside and nobody got too excited if we got dirty. The outdoors is still there, people, and doesn’t need to be switched on!
– Lynn Mayer

And yes, I would have thought children would still all be turning over rocks to find out what was underneath, how sad that they don't do that...
– Juliet Wilson

One redeeming thing that I have experienced several times has been on those occasions when I have stopped beside a river or on a forest trail and paused to look at a flower, raise my binoculars or set up a spotting scope on a tripod. I will be aware of someone, often but not always a child - adults do this too, behind me wondering what I am doing. “Never spurn an audience” has always been my watchword so I show them, let them look through the scope or peer at a flower or worm or fungus or whatever and help them notice what I had noticed. Guess what - they are interested! It’s not that people don’t care, they simply don’t know how to look, how to notice, how to ask questions even. That is so sad. Along with many people my age, I had adults as a kid who showed me things when we were outside. There was rarely a rock that I didn’t peer under. Maybe people need permission to look - I don’t know but I do think those of us with some knowledge have a bit of a duty to spread the word.

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And so …

I dislike it when people, seeing a need, say “THEY should do this or that …” when they could take ownership of the problem and do it themselves rather than leave it to others. So here’s what I propose. Starting next week, let’s say on Wednesday if I get my act together sufficiently, I will post weekly short introductions to groups of animals and plants with the intention of helping readers to notice the species for themselves. I won’t start with birds, plenty of resources for those elsewhere. Probably we will begin with insects, and if so then what better to open with than beetles?

• For now, let’s call it simply Noticing Nature. Look for this banner.

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Coincidentally, I have just had this book drawn to my attention - thank you Bev. Seems it might be of interest to those who do notice nature:

The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions - by Giselle Clarkson