Out on the Trail in California

"When a traveler asked Wordsworth's servant to show him her master's study, she answered, 'Here is his library, but his study is out of doors"

We have been wandering the parklands and wilderness areas in California as much as we can find time for. It is a magnificent state with so much diversity. Even just in the Bay Area, a relatively small part of this huge state, there is so much to see and to know. Jen took a course a few years back that gave her a brilliant introduction to the ecosystems that are California's. She continues to take mini-courses and lectures (of both indoor and outdoor varieties) to extend her knowledge of nature around her.

While walking to his school with Jordan on morning last spring and talking about what new flowers were blooming,
Jordan piped up with, "You know everything about nature". His mother was rather startled by this for a couple different reasons. First of all, she is still a begining naturalist, though a fairly avid one. Secondly, she recalled walking the trails of the Rocky Mountains with her father, years and years ago when she was younger than her son is now, and thinking the same thing about her father.

We can give the gift of passionate stewardship to the next generation by simply showing them the wonders of nature and giving them a presonal place there.
That is a hope that might save our Earth.

Usefull links to Ecology for Children: