Nature Play at the Greenville Zoo - Part 1
On a regular warm weekday, walking
through the zoo you may see me sitting in the mulch with rocks, sticks and some
animal figurines. Many people have inquired as to what exactly am I doing with
the children. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the little known world of nature
play that I forget how odd I must look, being a zoo employee, playing in the
dirt. I am Kait Otero and I am the Nature Play Coordinator at the Greenville
Zoo. My job is to facilitate nature based activities out on the zoo campus. If
you have been following this blog you know I provide resources and ideas for
nature based activities and crafts. However, I have never fully explained the
theory of Nature Play. To answer those questions I will create a series of
blogs to explain the importance of nature play, how a child can learn through
play and how the Greenville Zoo is involved.
Let’s start with the premise of
this movement, Nature Play is a nature based “curriculum” focused on early
childhood development. It is a growing movement with the help of zoos,
aquariums, nature centers and other child orientated organizations across the
nation. The main focus of Nature Play is pretty self-explanatory, getting
children to play in nature. While they play, they are developing skills that
meet classroom criteria in a more “natural” environment. There have been many
articles written on the benefits and values of letting our kids play outdoors. One
of the main benefits the Greenville Zoo focuses on is playing outdoors creates
empathy for nature. This empathy gives them a base for becoming a more
environmentally aware citizen. With all this talk about playing in nature and
nature play programs, the idea may not be clear on how we actually play in
nature. To some it may be a surprise that we do have boundaries as far as what
meets the criteria. At first it can be confusing, you may be thinking “don’t
you just let the children play?”. We definitely allow free choice in our nature
play programs because the ideas and materials are mostly open ended. However
there is more to just setting them free outdoors.
I recently attended a Nature Start
conference at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. This conference was all about how
to get nature play started at your zoo. They went over what is and what is not
considered nature play, as well as how to guide children through their play.
To
start, it helps to have a dedicated nature play space but it is not necessary.
You can bring nature into the classroom, which is a great introductory to nature
play. To better emphasize the key points of a natural space, we look at the
different playgrounds we would normally come across at our local parks and
compare them with natural spaces.
Most generic playgrounds are constructed from
plastic and don’t allow much varied play. If you look at a basic playground,
there are usually one way routes, and one ultimate goal of climbing up and
sliding down. Now if you take a look at the nature based playground, you will
see open spaces, different textured terrain to dig in and rocks or logs to
climb on. With this space there are inherently more options for play. A child
could dig, climb, balance, dance, jump, and create many worlds with their
imagination.
The third playground shown is our Nature Nook at the Greenville
Zoo. We did not have a lot of available space but we made it work with adding a
wooden balance beam, tree stumps, a chalk board, two xylophones and outdoor
building blocks. This space has natural textures to enhance play as well as
many different play options. The children can dig, jump, balance, create music,
build and draw with chalk. Adding loose parts is one way to enhance these
nature playgrounds or to incorporate in your classroom. Loose parts can be
anything that allows manipulation by the child. These parts do not have to be expensive,
they can be recycled items, things found in a backyard, or created from natural
materials. Loose parts I frequently use are recycled boxes, old tires, sticks/branches,
seed pods, and water. The goal is to get the children to use their imagination
with natural materials. While they are engulfed in an imaginary world, they are
learning and enhancing skills like social engagement, independent thinking,
problem solving and motor functions. The big take away I see as a wildlife
enthusiast, is the empathy they are creating for the nature around them. They
are creating memories and special moments outdoors that will last a lifetime.
These memories will help them become more environmentally aware citizens down
the road and advocate the well-being of local habitats.
The Greenville Zoo has been able to
create the Nature Nook with the help of AZA and Walt Disney. These two organizations
created a grant called, ‘Nature Play Begins at Your Zoo and Aquarium’. This
grant enabled organizations to buy materials, build nature spaces, and even
create job positions to improve and grow their Nature Play programs. We have
been very lucky to receive this grant three years in a row. With our grants we have
created the Nature Nook, started a family nature play club, built a water wall,
hosts training opportunities for other local school teachers, and fund my part
time position. Needless to say, this grant has fostered the movement and has
opened doors for endless growth, for which we are grateful. I hope I have
answered the question as to what is Nature Play! In the next blog we will be
talking about how to facilitate nature play if you don’t have outdoor space and
more tips from the Brookfield Zoo on how to guide children during play.
Happy playing!
