One of the most surprising things I discover when I talk with other nature enthusiasts is how many of them were “first generation;” that is, not coming from parents who were interested in nature study per se but who at least provided opportunities for their children to learn about it themselves. I am one of these “first “gens’” whose parents made available to me a number of venues through which I might discover the wonders of nature for myself. The enrolled me in the Boy Scouts, the bought me many books including a superb set of encyclopedias through which I could peruse at will in search of knowledge on a dizzying array of subjects, and possibly most influentially, they paid for my subscription to Ranger Rick magazine.
Ranger Rick, a publication of the National Wildlife Federation, has been inspiring children to learn about the natural world since 1967 (coincidentally the same year as my own birth). Including stories, games, riddles, and a superb collection of photos, each issue of Ranger Rick provides ample encouragement to all its young readers to learn more about nature from as near as their own back yard to as far as the other side of the world. Which is why it is always so surprising to me when I learn from my nature-enthusiast friends that they don’t subscribe to the magazine for their own children.
The reasoning is usually the same: that since they know their children to be growing up in a nature-oriented family, Ranger Rick is not necessary for them. I disagree. Children have this wonderful tendency to develop interests on their own that are completely and marvelously distinct from those of their parents. Mom and Dad continuously encouraging the young ones to pick up a binocular and come along bird watching might foster the practice in the children but it also might cause them to reject it as “just something Mom and Dad do.”
However, provide a child with a wealth of possibilities that appear to be unguided (emphasis on the phrase “appear to be”) as are the contents of such a fine publication as Ranger Rick and the child is free to discover those things that strike just the right note in their own minds. For instance, my strongest wildlife interests are in birds, moths, bees, dragonflies, and fish; however our daughter, while appreciating all these things, discovered a deep personal interest in spiders. How? By reading about them in Ranger Rick magazine, of course.
Therefore if you have children, know someone who has children, or were once a child yourself, don’t forget about the ways in which you first discovered the natural world and how good it felt to think that something you suddenly found yourself interested in was a discovery you had made all by yourself. Encourage this type of discovery by ensuring that Ranger Rick is on the reading table of the child or children in your life. The results will amaze you.
