Vicki

I grew up in a family that traveled and lived abroad quite a bit. In several places - Japan, Germany, Austria and Cyprus I had lots of access to nature. I loved playing outside both alone and with friends, and often had the opportunity to explore forests and beaches. While my parents were not particularly knowledgeable about nature, they always encouraged curiosity and helped find answers to questions. Later in life a close friend introduced me to birding and accompanying her helped foster my interest in birds. Our daughters still talk about the times I would brake and (hopefully) pull to the side of the road to observe and identify a bird. Now, I tease the four grandchildren that once they're three they can no longer just say bird, we have to identify it! They're getting pretty good now that they are 5-8. We also hike a lot and pause to identify possible nature mysteries - what happened here is often the question. In this way we have learned about nurse logs, for instance. My goal with our grandchildren is to foster our relationships, encourage curiosity and observation skills, and to lead them to understanding of the importance of respecting and protecting our natural world.