Sharing the love of nature with all

By: Ellen Harris, Education & Volunteer Specialist, Public Engagement

River Bluffs Open Space offers paved trails and wide open skies to observe eagles and the clouds. Photo Jeannie Sumrall-Ajero.

I’ve always liked facts- how many vertebrae are in a giraffe’s neck? 12-year-old Ellen knew the answer: 7, the same number as in a human’s neck. But reaching back into my memory, my first connections with nature were not fact-based. Those connections were made by the beauty and scariness of the glistening spiderweb stretched between the dark trees in the corner of the yard, or the awestruck moment of coming around a corner of a pond and watching a great blue heron rise on silent wings, all before I was 5 years old. It is the emotional connections we make to nature and place that are universal, that make us care well into adulthood.

Connecting children ages 2-5 to nature is the goal of the Tiny Trekkers program, which runs twice a month at Lions Open Space and River Bluffs Open Space, respectively. Tiny Trekkers is designed to help children explore nature and connect emotionally to Larimer County’s open spaces. And about a month ago, I was contacted by an employee of CHILL (Creatively Helping Individuals Live & Learn) about running a Tiny Trekkers program for adults with intellectual disabilities.

One priority of the Department of Natural Resource’s COMPASS is to provide nature education opportunities to a wider audience. We’d considered a variety of typically underrepresented groups, but I don’t think people with intellectual disabilities was on anyone’s list. Still, it seemed clear that everyone should have the right to go out into nature, to explore, and feel comfortable. So I said yes, recruited a volunteer to help, and met the group on March 2nd at River Bluffs Open Space.

On the long list of great things about working outdoors is that you get to bring fun props- I brought a skunk skin, a turtle shell, and a variety of other fun bits and bobs. The point of all of it was to introduce these folks to things they might have never seen before, and certainly have never gotten to touch before.

It turns out, people with intellectual disabilities have just as many varied reactions to the outdoors as kids and adults have — immense enthusiasm, hesitancy, and completely off-the-wall questions about things I’d never considered before. It was a ton of fun, and I’m so glad that I got to help a new group of people enjoy and learn about the outdoors.

I’m looking forward to doing it again next month!