‘Explore Your Wild’ celebrates nature
The first offerings under this new initiative are the Backyard Naturalist and Junior Naturalist programs, both conducted exclusively online and offer attendees the skills and knowledge to observe and preserve their own backyards.
The Wilderness Center announced Explore Your Wild, a new initiative in its mission to connect people with nature. Through partnerships with local organizations, schools and green spaces, new programs offered within the community and online will connect educators and naturalists with the surrounding community to inspire all ages to discover the wonders of their own backyard, schoolyard or local park.
“Whether it’s a 3-acre woodlot or a postage stamp in the city, your backyard has nature stories to tell,” said Carrie Elvey, community engagement coordinator. “We want to help people realize that nature is not a place to visit. Nature is all around us. It is in our backyards, in our neighborhoods and in our communities.”
Changing this perspective is of vital importance, as results from a recent study, The Nature of America - National Report, showed Americans face a significant gap between their interest in nature and their “efforts, abilities and opportunities to pursue those interests.” This is due, in part, to the study’s finding that “adults tend to set a high and even impossible standard for what they perceive to be authentic and unforgettable nature, believing that it requires solitude and travel to faraway places.”
It is perhaps no wonder that in the 2018 state report for Ohio from the research project titled America’s Wildlife Values, 74% of Ohio respondents reported interest in wildlife viewing, but 51% of those interested had never participated in wildlife viewing before.
“When you combine these statistics with the reality that people of color and marginalized populations do not enjoy equitable access to nature and nature-based education,” said Jeanne Gural, executive director, “and then add the safety and logistical challenges of the pandemic, it was clear that we needed to shift to meet the needs of the community. The Explore Your Wild initiative will allow us to meet our communities where they are.”
The first offerings under this new initiative are the Backyard Naturalist and Junior Naturalist programs, both conducted exclusively online, which offer attendees the skills and knowledge to observe and preserve their own backyards.
“Know, love and protect truly are the guiding forces behind our work,” Gural said. “My favorite quote, one that fully illustrates TWC’s mission, is ‘in the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught’ — Baba Dioum, 1968. But first there has to be a connection, and we can help make that happen.”
Learn more at www.wildernesscenter.org/.