One of the greatest gifts one can give to a child is to nurture their innate emotional connection to nature. You can easily predict a young child’s joyful reaction to discovering wildflowers or curiosity when encountering a wild creature. If you allow yourself, you — as an adult — will feel it, too. This is a connection we are born with, but in our modern lives it can be reduced to just a thin thread, unless it is given the space and opportunity to be reinforced.
Since last spring, REACH Museum educators have had the pleasure of engaging with the children and teachers of Education Service District 123’s ECEAP preschools. Thanks to a generous grant from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Recreation Conservation Organization (RCO), the Artful Response to Tiered Support (A.R.T.S.) program implemented curricula that gets preschool classes outdoors and doing art. Activities included are from the Growing Up Wild curriculum and utilize shrub-steppe ecosystem art resources created by teaching artist Jenny Rieke. Many of the 670 students in the program also visit the REACH museum or have our wildlife program visit their classrooms.
Lisa Brouwer-Thompson and Cindy Morris of A.R.T.S. describe what they experienced with the students through this process:
Our approach blends one-on-one interventions, small group sessions, and large group explorations to engage students in the world of nature and art. Through this process, something magical happens. When students engage with nature and art, all their senses are activated, and they can express themselves without the need for words. We witness a transformation as students physically relax and regain emotional stability. This immersive experience allows children to release tension, build confidence, and tap into their creativity, providing a sense of calm and focus.
You can see some of the resulting artwork, along with snapshots captured during the learning process, in a special exhibit at the REACH Museum’s Hoch Gallery through May 17. This exhibit, Through Young Eyes: the Shrub-Steppe, is one of the ways the REACH is celebrating this partnership. We are also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Hanford Reach National Monument this year.
The remarkable effects that nature and artistic expression have on children can start when adults model to children that nature is worth paying attention to and spending time with. This often happens in small moments, but those flashes of connectivity can make impressions that last a lifetime.
Pauline Schafer is the Education Manager at the REACH Museum, a Certified Interpretive Guide, and a nature nerd.
