The city where I stay was said to have one of the best climates in India, but this year the Rain gods have totally neglected this city. Last year we were enjoying rain by this time but this year it’s delayed by 4-5 weeks.

Delhi is burning at 46 degree celcius while Chennai at 42 degrees. Global warming is becoming a serious concern now. Continous Deforestation and chemical waste disposal has made many lands barren and infertile.

It’s high time people understand the concept of Go Green and start applying it in their daily lives.

Arguably the  most poisonous animal on earth The Golden Poison Dart Frog   is now resident in the first ever amphibian sanctuary established to save the deadly, yet endangered species, which exudes poison so toxic that even coming into contact with a paper towel touched by a frog can be fatal, one 2-in long frog having enough venom to kill 10 adult people within minutes.

This manner of death is pretty horrific too.], the bright orange skin of the , frog covered by a secretion of deadly alkaloid toxin batrachotoxin, which prevents nerves from transmitting impulses – muscles constantly contract, leading to heart failure and death within minutes.

Nonetheless, this deadly creature has a place in the ecosystem, human ancestors managing to use the toxin for hunting, perhaps enabling their own survival, as the frog only uses the poison for defence. The new frog sanctuary is located along the Pacific coast of western Colombia, and will also give protection to several key bird species, like  the endangered baudó guan, a medium-sized game fowl whose worldwide population is estimated at 10,000-20,000 birds.

Also, the very vulnerable brown wood-rail, a medium-sized, mostly rufous-brown rail – population estimated at only 1,000 to 2,500 – as well as the vulnerable great curassow –  large, pheasant-like bird numbers estimated to be between 10,000 and 60,000. This new reserve – 124 areas of threatened Chocó forest – has been dubbed the Rana Terribilis Amphibian Reserve – from the Spanish word for frog — rana — and the frog’s Latin name – Phyllobates terribilis.

The World Land Trust, Global Wildlife Conservation and the American Bird Conservancy helped buy the land, in one of the planet’s wettest tropical rain-forests, owned and managed by leading Colombian conservation organization Fundación ProAves,who also run  the Ranita Dorada Reserve.

We need to halt the continued, rapid disappearance of rain-forests and the resultant loss of wildlife that depend on them, so the creation of this critical new reserve is a big step toward achieving those goals. Let us hope that many more such schemes come into being. 

In a fitting 50th written post this month, I wish to celebrate the Fiftieth anniversary of the publication of what has to be the MOST important book ever published about environmentalism – Silent Spring – by the iconic FIRST champion of everything green, Rachel Carson.

Rachel Louise Carson was born in the river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania in 1907, youngest of three children. Inheriting her abiding love of nature from intelligent and forceful mother, Maria, Rachel studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory and later Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, biology and the environment her undying passion.

Proving to be both a first-rate scientist and a gifted writer, Rachel began writing for the Baltimore Sun - 1936 becoming editor-in-chief for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Throughout her scientific career, Rachel had concerns about human impact on the environment, writing the hard-hitting, award-winning bestseller The Sea Around Us in 1951, roundly condemning many practices.

In that same year, she resigned from the Fish and Wildlife Service to devote herself to her writing, becoming increasingly worried about indiscriminate use of DDT and other synthetic chemical pesticides. The end result was that, locked away in her Colesville, Maryland cottage, she wrote her book Silent Spring.

This astonishing volume provided unequivocal proof that powerful synthetic insecticides were poisoning food chains, from insects upwards. Published in September 1962, Silent Spring remains one of the most effective denunciations of industrial malpractice ever written. This iconic work is widely credited with being the initial trigger of popular ecological awareness, both in the USA and Europe.

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace trace their origins directly to this incredibly revealing text, which had, incredibly, by the time of her death in 1964 sold well over a million copies. Despite a savage mauling from critics, Carson never wavered in her stance, her courage in sounding the alarm – her ecological vision of the oneness of all life and her fierce determination helped to indelibly shape the environmental movement, fully anticipating the 21st century global crisis.

Even the US Environmental Protection Agency can trace its existence to Carson’s work, and the extended shadow cast by Silent Spring, Carson in 1980 posthumously awarded the highest US civilian honour of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Jimmy Carter.

Rachel Carson was blessed with a rare combination of gifts, in that she was both a brilliant marine biologist and a superb writer – her prose exquisite in its precision and lyricism – We have much to thank her for, in that today we are acutely aware of the fragility of nature’s food chain. 50 Fifty years publication, as the world warms, sea levels rise and coral reefs crumble, these questions asked in Silent Spring have acquired a new and urgent relevance, but do we have the will to properly address them? That still remains to be seen.

‘What makes an issue ethical?’ Most young readers would not be able to answer this question. But before answering this question, a better question is ‘what is ethical?’ Ethics is a set of unwritten rules of moral behaviour and values within communities. This means that these set of ‘rules’ determine whether you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. An ethical issue is an issue where there is conflict on what a certain person or organization is doing. The actions of the person or organization are evaluated as either right (ethical) or wrong (unethical). There are multiple approaches to avoid all conflict so that no issue arises.  A main consideration is Utilitarianism in which you consider the usefulness of a decision before making it so that it pleases most others. In other words, think before you act. When wanting to seek revenge on someone, it is best to think before you act before something worse happens. An ethical approach would be to forgive the person.

Subjectivism is also a key factor in avoiding conflict, but can also be brought out incorrectly depending on the person’s thoughts. Subjectivism is deciding by your own self-esteem and for yourself, through your own experiences, whether your actions are right or wrong. Deciding for yourself can sometimes be an incorrect decision because some people are unable to tell right from wrong due to their own experiences in life. An example of correct usage of subjectivism would be a person seeing a fight and stopping it rather than cheering it on with other bystanders. Situational ethics is making a decision in terms of the situation. With this approach, the actions seem unethical but the situation that they are placed in makes it ethical. For example, Breaking a window, to escape a fire or assaulting a stranger, in self defence. Without the specified situations, the actions are deemed unethical. A problem with relativism is that it asserts each person has the right to choose what is right or wrong that they can’t adopt themselves.

Relativism is a person’s ‘truth’ which is actually a belief. An example of relativism is hitting a person back because you believe it is the right thing to do. The opposite of relativism is Natural Law in which we believe that every person has an innate behaviour and are born a raised with a correct understanding of human morals. The Catholic Church believes that the Natural Law was adopted from the 10 commandments and without the Commandments, there would be no innate behaviour of ethics because there would be no guide for the first few people to live. The Catholic Church also believes that the ‘innate’ understanding of ethics is God’s creation. In my opinion, I believe that natural law is correct and that we are all born with some understanding of ethical and unethical situations but sometimes it can be personal experiences that make up your mind.

In a pluralist society, it would be complex to make ethical decisions because the society is diverse and what seems normal to some could be very different to others. A pluralistic society is a society which the community are able to legally choose their own ethical views and what ethical beliefs, if any, they wish to hold. It is similar to relativism in a sense that people are able to have their own ethical views but it is different in a sense that the society is allowed to have their own ethical views and few/no laws stopping them. The complexity of this would be that there would be little to no restriction to most people and it could potentially create chaos and possibly continue to the extinction of the human race. An example of this would be choosing to be homosexual rather than heterosexual; the human race would die out in one generation. In a religious point of view, every person has the choice of which religion they wish to believe in and the ethical views that come with it. It would be complex to make ethical decisions because there would be no correct right or wrong, only an opinion of every single person in the society. Although it seems like freedom, the world needs boundaries to survive. To some people murder would be seem as unethical but to others it could possibly be seen as ethical. Seeing murder as ethical is wrong in our society, but in a pluralistic society where everyone has their own choice, the people can choose to think that it is right. Within a Pluralistic society, human rights, responsibilities of individuals and groups of society would be different for nearly every person and wouldn’t even be considered with the same importance that it has today. If there was to be a Pluralist Society, the matter of life or death would be put into the hands of every human being.

The 10 Commandments started of as basic rules for relating to God and to others, but it has gained a greater importance throughout the years. Most of the rules within the 10 Commandments are used for human rights rules and approaches to ethical decision making. It is possible to say that the human race would have eventually arrived at these rules after some time, but with the influence of the 10 Commandments, it sped up the process. I do believe that we would have arrived to the rules eventually to create peace and harmony without the 10 Commandments (even though it would take longer). The 10 Commandments were first created to ‘obey’ God and to keep his creations safe. Most people believed in God and therefore followed the ‘rules’. But the people that didn’t believe in God, they still followed the ‘rules’ because they deemed it to be ethical. If they did not believe in God, why did they still follow ‘God’s rules’? It is because they already had an understanding of peace but had not perfected on how to bring it out, and still in our society today, we still don’t have a solution on how to create ‘world peace’. To create these rules, it would take time and experience throughout your life but it is fair enough to say that the 10 Commandments did help out in solving bits and pieces.

In the passage looked at above the main character struggles to find his own identity as he is splitting his time between the Bilagaána culture and the Navajo culture. He tries to create two separate but equal identities. One identity, his Bilagaána-like identity, he uses when he is off the reservation interacting with almost entirely non-navajo people. The other he maintains for when he returns to the comforts of the reservation and the Navajo culture. This passage clearly demonstrates the struggle that the main character faces as his inability to maintain two separate identities cause them to clash as he brings his bilagaána roommate back to the reservation to witness the Navajo ceremony that is taking place. The fact that no large problems or difficulties arise during Steve’s visit to the reservation alludes to the fact that the main character’s Bilagaána identity and his Navajo identity will eventually be able to mesh into a unique identity that he will be able to call his own.

From The Glittering World also uses a great deal of historical allusions throughout the book which reminds the reader that it is more than a mere fictional story, but is a tale rooted in reality.  One of the historical occurrences that the story alludes to is the displacement of many Navajo people from their sacred lands. This can be seen in earlier stages of the story when the narrator depicts the standoff as the Navajo try to stay in their holy lands while the Bilagaána relentlessly attack those who do not submit. It is also alluded to when the Bilagaána force the Navajo to take the grueling march to Fort Sumner, far away from their homelands. Alongside these allusions the mass genocide of the Navajo during this period is alluded to as well. Later in the story the narrator also alludes to the Vietnam war when the main character is taken from his Grandmother’s home and forced to join the fighting. The use of these historical allusions allows us to maintain an essence of reality as well as a relative timeline while reading through this fictional tale.

Sunshine’s by name;

Sunshine by nature;

How true is this??

Well not always but I will not be sharing any of my darkest secrets on here-ha ha ha -

It was a week yesterday that I decided to find out more about about The Cherokees.

Ever since I have become totally engorossed in their lives,beliefs ,faith and lifestyles.So for today I am going to be Sunshine Ray.

Lone Wolf

ever since

I have

been with child

this canine wonder

has never

ever

left my side .

He loves

my beloved man

Silver Creek

with

every breath

of his

canine being

and has become

my protector

for

every moment

when my beloved man is

not around.

I pat the green ground

by my side

and

Lone Wolf

without

hesitation

walks

or

almost

glides

to my side

in a floating motion.

His wise head

resting

on my knees

and those

deep seeing

eyes

almost lock

with mine.

Their untold message

so clear:-

‘I am your protector’

‘I am your saviour’

‘Yours and Silver Creek’s babe

I will protect forevermore.’

‘Never worry as l am by your side’

We sat together as one

watching

absorbing

and

allowing

our minds

to be inspired

by

each beauty

enfolding

and

carressing

each view

locked in our

hrearts

and

spirits

forevermore.

I tenderly rub my

swollen form

in which lay our

precious new life; a life

brought forth

by

the most loving connection

there could be.

Oh Silver Creek

we are so as one. Our hearts

spirits

and

souls united

with Earth Mother’s

loving grace

and her

blessings.

Oh Gods

of the

mountains

dales

valleys

and

rivers

unite in harmony

each breath

we take

and

each word

we speak.

Source: wikimedia.comSunshine Ray.

I sit high

on top of the mountain;

I sit leaning back to allow

the spring breeze

to blow through

my long dark

glossy locks.

How I allow

inspiring values

to enter my being and into the depth of my spirit.

Far down below

almost like small

insects

I see a hive of daily activity.

Our stallion

‘Morning Mist’

the leader

of our horses

is kicking

and

frollicking

in frenzied excitement

to his

heart’s content.

Next I can

quite clearly

make out

Crimson Red

with her

little group of children

her pupils

so eager to

learn

Distance hinders

but my

mind’s keen eye

tells me so much.

She tells me

all about

of little faces

eager

hungry to learn

in awe

wondering

and loving

each step

and

each day

of

Crimson Red’s

teachings.

They sit in full circle

young spirits entwined

so new

so fresh.

They absorb

each lesson

like a flower

to sunshine.

They wave their hands

in tune to her lead

like flower fairies ;

free flowing

brimming over

with

love and joy.

Beside me there is a rustling

from the

midst of the

yellow laden gorse.

In my mind

I knew

before

this rustle

became vision

that it was

Lone Wolf.

I

Source: wikimedia.com

I have already felt

the very first stirring

of life

from my womb.

Likened to the

the

soft flutterings

of a

butterfly;

of being at one

with Earth Mother.

I look far

down below me

with an inner pride

and

love

that was new

and so wholesome.

I coud

see the

beginning of a brook

which ran into

the silver thread

of

the river.

At the end

of the journey

many rivers

came together

and ran as many estuaries into the sea.

These

estuaries

I liken to our lives .

Which one

we take

is our desicion.

Source: wikimedia.comTHE RIVERS OF LIFE.

.

A splutter and a gurgle

From deep inside the earth

Is a flowing indication

Of a shimmering new birth.

Leisurely she’ll flow along

Over the earth and its charms

Bringing peace, love and solitude

Like a new babe in mother’s arms.

Over obstacles she’ll meander

Until she conquers her fight,

Compare we this to childhood

As we learn wrong from right.

Wearily she’ll flow along

Into estuaries she’ll divide,

These are the rivers of life

Which one? Is ours to decide.

Source: flcikr.comMy Journey.

I have a journey to travel beofre the birth of our little one.

To clear the slightly overgrown pathways to my heart and soul.

A pure and sure heart our baby will be nourished from;his very first look into my eyes will show me as a strong person with inner pathways cleared.

Silver Cross and my spirit entwined; fitting so well ;each contour;

fitting with ease.

My heart misses a beat as I see my man ;far down below me gathering together his horses;horses that had been injured or were ill;but had now recovered due to his gentle care;the care of a loving and tender hreart.

Lone Wolf also looked down and with bright eyes and wagging tail.

He understood;as he had that deep set gift given to him by our Earth Mother,of spiritual understanding.

A knowing which ran almost as if on an invisible silver thread from his soul to yours Earth Mother; a gift which will last while he is on this earth.

I know that I have this journey to travel but I am not alarmed or worried,I have a deep set trust and understanding inyou my Earth Mother . I accept my journey and I know that I will emerge a better person.

A cleansing of my deepest spirit; in order to be a true mother in all ways.

My Journey.

Oh Earth Mother

I trust you so;

Wherever I am

Wherever I go.

I see you in each sunrise

I see you in each life;

In Lone Wolf’s cries

Your prescence is rife.

I will follow you

As I travel along;

I trust you too

So sweet your song.

I will be cleansed

I will be wholesome.

I will be blessed.

I accept the outcome.

Earth Mother I do love

In Earth Mother I trust.

So like a white dove

This journey is a must.

Source: wikimedia.comSource: flciker.com

As Lone Wolf

and I

sit in

seren silence

those up till now

flutters

had blossomed

into a much stronger

kicking movement.

I look down

in deep wonder

and I see our baby

move as if in

an almost

slow motion;

Oh yes

‘Lone Wolf’

another

day has

begun..

In the morning nearly all the Bedouins started his activities as a farmer went to the fields. The girls and women weave cloth for their own use or sold to the guests who visit the cendramata. Joy of children playing around the village because they are educated from the customary nature and their own parents. In the Bedouin have never established a formal school in general, so modern as ethnic Bedouin did not know reading and writing. Their language is a dialect of Sunda Sunda Kulon. Every person who understands Sundanese no trouble communicating with them because the difference is only in the pronunciation intonation alone. While Indonesian is usually only understood by the young Bedouin.

Living with nature, providing a quiet and peaceful life for the Bedouin because they were not allowed diperkampungan no motorized vehicles, no radio or television, does not require illumination from the source of electrical energy generated and all forms of modern culture.

Places of interest in Baduy among others, the Bedouin traditional house made uniform. There is no rich or poor, they make a traditional house made of Bamboo is almost the same, wood and thatched roofed or similar Pandan leaves. Rice also has its own charm, with a typical form for storage of rice crops that are resistant to many years as a backup for party supplies or food due to drought drawback. For processing of paddy into rice they do not use the machine, but still use the traditional tools of lisung and Alu pounder is usually done by Bedouin women. Make the palm sugar is also one of livelihood there. Palm to palm sugar or agricultural products are much in demand outside the Bedouin community because in addition to flavor and aroma of sugar palm / palm is sweet and fragrant drink is also good to be in shape.

Ciujung beauty of the river that flows along the Bedouin village main attraction, besides air and unspoiled clear water, swift currents also attracted many entrants for taking the swim and bathe in the river because this opportunity may not be obtained in urban rivers.

Clothes they only know two colors: black or dark colors (dark blue) to the State and the White Bedouin to Bedouin In. Headband which they named Udeng always be worn by both men was a child and adult. While the Bedouin girls and women always wore a certain model kebaya and fabric.

How to reach the Bedouin village is quite easy to reach for 4 hours by car from Jakarta. The quality of the road from Jakarta to Rangkasbitung very good and wide. Terdekatpun still further to the village about 40 km is paved. Although not as wide as before, but has paved a smooth and presents views of verdant hills.

Bedouin village in general can be visited at any time. But because of all the action in Baduy done on foot, should avoid the long rainy season as Novemember – February. If rain falls only two or three times a week, can still be recommended to visit there because usually if there is still the rainy season, at night we still had the opportunity to see the number of fireflies twinkling thousands around the village.

Moreover, it’s time arrived the night of full moon, the night there is very impressive. Bedouin tradition that used to just use the illumination of light vegetable oil and even then only in the house, then outside the house light moon and stars give a dominant lighting illuminates the township. The moon and stars seemed so close to Earth. Almost like living in the 12th century when modern technology such as electricity, cement, telephone, radio has not been found.

It was a utopia.

Crisp winds rippled across vast prairies of emerald green grass, a deer barely escaping a dangerous pack of determined wolves. Herds of giant bison roamed the plains freely, migrating from one area to the next. An antelope bent over for a drink by the river, until the mighty jaws of a crocodile closed with a crunch around the prey’s exposed neck. A small family of cheetahs relaxed in a fig tree, avoiding the brutal sun above. Dolphins, whales, and seals coasted through waters as blue as sapphires, as waves crashed into the towering walls of grey stone. Lobsters, crabs, and crustaceans of all kinds scampered away and buried themselves in the sand while the great white shark stalked along the warm, murky ocean floor. In the deepest trenches, a particular immortal jellyfish reached a mature age, and then reverted back to its polyp form, thus restarting its lifecycle.

Above sea level, snowcapped mountains rose above the world, dwarfing everything in sight. From miles above, a falcon scanned the ground, and effortlessly curled into a spiraling descent, darting in and out of the clouds, with black eyes locked on an innocent baby rabbit in the fields below. Monstrous aspen, oak, and elm trees reached across the skies, their branches home to birds and critters from all walks of life. Massive grizzly bears marched from river to river, as salmon unknowingly fought their way up waterfalls, simply to be caught and eaten as they emerged from the stream. Scorpions and iguanas darted from each spot of shade as they made their way through the barren wasteland of brown dunes and orange canyons. Snakes the size of cars and spiders the size of birds crept through the dense rainforests, ignoring the cacophony of the overly horny family of baboons swinging through the vines and branches above. Polar bears and penguins slid down crystal glaciers into the frigid arctic waters and clambered onto drifting blocks of ice. The world was in pure harmony. The circle of life was hard at work to maintain this beautiful, living, breathing planet. No discord. No disruptions, disturbances, or disasters. No disease, no death, no depression, or despicably downward spiraling economy. Every living creature, whether it was predator or prey was living together, in unison.

            A booming sound thundered across every sea, mountain, field, and desert. It burrowed its ways to the depths of the ocean and the floor of the jungle. Into the deepest caves and across the most expansive forests. Along rivers, over hills, under trees, everywhere. This sound, for an instant, made the hearts of every living soul stop.

  “SHIT!” god bellowed, his robed arm stretching out from the clouds.

           A shiny glass jar whooshed past a bald eagle – the ONLY bald eagle. The elegant raptor tucked into a nose dive, plummeting after the jar, but as soon as he began to catch up, the jar would speed up and fall further out of reach. Every animal, the bears, birds, fishes, cows, horses, moose, deer, monkeys, lions, and kangaroos stopped and watched as the only bald eagle in existence desperately chased this jar. Hawks, falcons, owls, crows, hummingbirds, and pigeons all raced after the eagle, trying to catch this fragile object. Even the mosquitoes, gnats, and flies were chasing after it, but the bats just couldn’t pass up the opportunity for an early dinner. So the insects didn’t last very long.

            As the ground grew closer and closer, rivers began to flood, forests started burning, glaciers melted, and avalanches devoured mountainsides. The sky darkened, the ground split open beneath them as entire families of animals were separated. In a final instant, the eagle caught up to the jar, and wrapped its wings around its shiny, black exterior as they both crunched into the ground. The last eagle in existence – majestic and magnificent – lay there, with shattered bones and crippled limbs. Before it died, its eye gazed upon the shattered jar.

The label read “HUMANS,” and as the last living eagle took its final breath, the utopia was undone. 

1. Reading

A child who cannot read cannot hope to improve themselves more than marginally. A child who loves reading will be able to learn all they want and more about anything they like. Studies have shown that reading to your children daily, even for only 5 minutes and from the newspaper, increases the amount of money they will earn when older and decreases their chance of committing crime. Read to your children.

As soon as they begin to talk, read to them. Read earlier if you like. Every day, read at least one book to your child. This is a fantastic bonding experience, improves intelligence and future outcomes, but only takes 5 minutes a day. Very easy!

Teach them the alphabet a few letters at a time. While you read, point out the letter their name starts with and have them repeat it. Do this several times and then have them find their name-letter in a given word (for example, Mary has to find ‘M’ in ‘climb’). Continue this until they can easily find their name-letter. Tell them the pronunciation (for vowels, just give them the pronunciation used in their name). Once this is easy, introduce another letter. Continue like this through the alphabet. You’ll be surprised how quickly they can learn all the letters and their sounds. This method can be used with children as young as 2 years old. A 2 year old reading letters. Very impressive. Their futures immediately get much brighter.

There are a number of methods on how to teach reading from this point. If you have a favourite, use it, but otherwise, the method below works both well and quickly.

Once the letters and their sounds are known, show them how to sound out easy words. “‘SEE’ so we say ‘SSSSS-EEEEEEEE’. ‘SSSEEEEE’. ‘SSEEE.’” etc. and have the child copy you. Ensure that the words you choose are ones which can be sounded using the letter-sounds they know. Once they are good at copying you, have them read words you choose on pages of books. Always start as easy as possible. Always praise and make it a fun, bonding experience. And well done. Your child can read at a basic level.

The next step in reading is finding books that consist entirely of soundable words. “Hop on Pop” and other Dr Seuss titles are good. Let them read it to you, or take it in turns reading pages. Continue with such books until their reading is fairly good. Then begin to introduce books with one or two words that cannot be sounded directly, like “THE” or “MAKE”. Teach these words as they come up and let them read the book over and over. If you continue like this, in much less than a year from finishing the alphabet, your child will be reading at a 5 or 6 year old standard. The key is doing it daily and making it a fun activity with lots of praise. A 3 year old can be reading as a 6 year old without too much trouble.

Remember, the more they read, the easier it gets. If they read street signs or packet labels to you, praise them enormously. Keep in mind, though, that you should still read to them every day, but they should be reading their own books also.

Get a library card. Make weekly trips to the library and borrow a week’s worth of books. Let your child choose the books he or she likes. This trip alone can be a source of great fun. Stop at a cafe and have breakfast together, or go to a playground on the way back. Compliment him or her on the choice of books and how great they look. Continue visiting the library with your child every week for as many years as you can. There is literally no upper limit.

This continues as the child grows older. They should read a book a day until they reach chapter books, which take longer. You should read them a book or a section of a book daily as well. Encourage reading as much as possible. Make it a bonding activity. Make them love it.

The good thing about reading daily is that they will become hugely knowledgable. Even children’s books, which do not contain much information about the world, can create a highly intelligent child when enough are read. By giving your child a livelong love and habit of reading, you have ensured that they will always be intelligent.

2. Nature

The world around us is beautiful and fascinating. Encouraging curiosity, wonder, and attention to details to appreciate the small things can all be done fairly simply.

When weather permits, take your child for a walk every day. Even if it is only in the backyard, and only for 5 minutes. Spend time outside. Talk about what you see and have him or her describe what is seen also. After a few days, pick a particular thing, like a flower or a snail, and look at it in more detail. Talk about how it grows and lives. Watch it for a while. Look at it from different angles. Spend a good five minutes talking and looking at the item.

After a few days of this, introduce a nature journal. This is a highly personal object that is never to be criticized. Incorrect spelling and poor handwriting are perfectly acceptable and should not be mentioned, although good spelling and neat layout should be praised. In the nature journal, every day, draw a picture of the focus item and write about it. For example, if the item is a bird, draw a picture of it flying and standing still, draw its footprints, and draw its nest. Write the name and any other points, such as “birds come from eggs”. The child chooses what goes in the journal, although more is better and should be praised. Again, never criticize the journal.

Use one page every day for the chosen item. Let the child choose the item sometimes, and the parent choose it at other times. Use colour pencils or even paints to create beautiful pictures.

As the child grows, he or she will naturally begin to put more information in the journal. Encourage this. Instead of merely writing “bird”, write the type of bird and a few points about its diet or how it lives.

Your child will not only learn a great deal of practical information about the natural world, but the journal itself will become very dear to them. They will develop a deep-seated love and appreciation of the natural world, which later in life they will apply to whatever field takes their fancy. Your child will love to learn and observe, and be able to see the beauty in the things that so many of us overlook.

Naturally, there is a great deal more to raising a good child than these two points. However, if these two are both done at early ages and in a positive way, then they will vastly enhance the child’s intellect, empathy, and curiosity. A child who loves sketching spiderwebs is unlikely to be destructive. A child who enjoys reading is unlikely to be ignorant. A child who is aware of how big and wonderful the world really is is incapable of arrogance.

For a free manual on nature journals, look here.