Margaret

I grew up on a large farm in Queensland, Australia. We had dairy cattle, crops and some rough country where our beef cattle lived. I walked two miles to a one-teacher school for 8 years, and being the eldest, I was in charge of caring for my younger siblings when we all walked together. We would watch for snakes (three poisonous snakes on our property), watch out for Magpies in nesting season as the adult birds routinely attack any person or animal that gets too close to their nest, and notice the change in the seasons as different plants flowered during the year, and we were always on the lookout for koalas high up in the eucalyptus trees. Both my parents were knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of the area, and we could all identify the birds, reptiles and different plants on the farm. As I grew up without internet, I had many magazines and books about things that children could do. One magazine showed how to be a part of the Christmas Bird Count, so when I turned ten, I wrote for the form that I would fill in to be a part of the count. I filled in the usual Kookaburra, Magpie, Double-barred Finch, Parrot species etc as I sat on the edge of our creek. Then I noticed a bird I had never seen before - it had a black body, with bright golden yellow on its head and back. That night I was describing what I'd seen to my parents. They said it sounded like a Regent Bowerbird, but I must be wrong because "we don't get those here". So, in my 20s, I moved to the US and have lived here ever since. On a visit to the family farm when I was in my 50s, my father mentioned that he'd seen a Regent Bowerbird in a tree in our creek. I shouted, "I told you so!"  My parents laughed heartily and said they were expecting me to say that. It was a running joke for the rest of their lives. I'm so grateful that nature was such an important part of my childhood. I have two grandchildren in the US, and three in Australia, and I love spending time outdoors and finding out what they are noticing in nature. It's been three years since we visited Australia and I can't wait to try out some strategies to make the grandchildren there aware of the wonderful world they have outside their door, and ways that they can protect that wonderful land for the future.