little eco footprints

Is our fear of risk harming our children?

I recently discovered there’s a bucket list for childhood - 50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾. The list of 50 outdoor activities aims to “encourage kids to get mucky, discover their wild side and most of all enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer”. It includes essential childhood activities like climb a tree, roll down a really big hill, make a mud pie, and cook on a campfire.

I think there’s another list –

Minor accidents every child should encounter before departing childhood

Perhaps it would look something like this:

1. fall out of a tree
2. stack your bike
3. cut your foot on an oyster shell
4. get stung by a blue-bottle
5. get dumped by a wave
6. burn your mouth on a toasted marshmallow
7. step on a bindi-eye

I experienced each of these minor accidents during my childhood – along with a couple of broken bones.

I consider these accidents a badge of a joyful childhood.

They also provided an invaluable learning opportunity.

Through these accidents I learnt to judge risk, tested my physical limits and learnt new skills. I improved my balance, learnt to enjoy the surf without being afraid and discovered what I could and couldn’t do on a bike.

I also learnt that you can’t climb a really big tree, hang a hessian bag over a branch, then climb into it and expect to be able to hold your own weight. That accident resulted in a broken arm - and hopefully I earned a good dose of common sense a long with it.

The impact of our risk adverse society on my daughter and her peers has been on my mind.

"small risks taken early (and the natural world is good place to take those risks) can prepare children to avoid more onerous risks later in life" Richard Louv. 

I’m keen to find a balance between reducing the risks of serious injury and allowing her to engage in creative, challenging, exciting and slightly risky play.

I’m determined to quieten my paranoid coddling mum tendencies and provide ample opportunity for her to engage in independent outdoor play.

I’ll be cheering her on when she races her bike down hills, climbs high up a tree, and learns to dive under a wave – despite the mum in me wanting to yell out “slow down”, “don’t climb so high” and “the waves are too big”. Because there’s some lessons that just have to be learnt sooner or later.

[Originally published in the The Newcastle Herald 18th May 2013]

Do you worry too that we are wrapping our kids in cotton wool and preventing them from finding their own boundaries?

Further reading on the topic: 

• The end of zero risk in childhood?
• Outdoor play: Does avoiding the risks reduce the benefits?
• The Criminalization of Natural Play

edited: I’ve popped back to leave a note on this scheduled post after learning of the heartbreaking loss of Kathreen Ricketson and her partner Rob. Kathreen was an inspiration to me, particularly through her Action Pack Magazine for Kids. Little Eco and I have spent many hours enjoying activities inspired by her work and will continue to do so for many years. I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting Kathreen in real life, but the sadness I feel at her loss has made me realise just how powerful this online world is.

I contemplated deleting this post after learning of their tragic accident while swimming – because it seems a little heartless to write about risk. But given that Kathreen was passionate about childhood exploration and helping children connect with nature, I feel OK about leaving it as is. May her work continue to inspire children to create, explore, learn and connect with nature for many years to come. 

Less is more when it comes to kids birthday parties

I’m learning that less is definitely more when it comes to kids’ birthday parties. Fewer guests, simpler food, and fewer activities make for a calmer and more meaningful celebration.

Little Eco's birthday parties are getting simpler each year. For her fourth birthday I attempted a good-old-fashioned simple and frugal birthday party. On reflection I failed – the party was far from simple. There were old-fashioned party games and the food, decorations and party favours were all homemade. But the guest list topped 20 and I was busily preparing for days. I had my poor parents and sister cutting, baking, mixing and creating until late the night before.

I fared better for her fifth birthday. I unashamedly outsourced and she enjoyed a farm party. Guests were fewer and the party was simple, waste-free and best of all Kate from Purple Pear Farm did most of the work, leaving me to enjoy the day. The food was simple - fruit kebabs, pop corn and fruit smoothies. A farm tour was followed by a seasonal story about bulbs and each child got to take home their very own baby bulb to care for.

For her recent sixth birthday I finally applied the old rule of thumb to have as many guests as your child’s age plus one. Having less guests really worked and enabled her to actually speak to each of her friends - something I’m not certain she did at her previous parties.

I nurtured her horse obsession by taking her and six friends horse riding. She really enjoyed sharing something that she treasures with her friends.

Food was simple – pikelets, fruit and a bag of lollies of her choice and the tiny horse cake-toppers doubled as party favours.

Her next party will hopefully be even simpler. In particular I want to provide time for unstructured play – something that has been lacking from her previous parties. Rather than shuffle the kids from one structured activity to the next I’d like to give them time to play and connect.

I’d like Little Eco to grow up thinking that birthdays are a time to enjoy treasured friends, favourite foods, and a fun activity rather than extravagance and chaos.

[Originally published in the The Newcastle Herald 11th May 2013]

Do you have any tips for hosting a simple and meaningful kids birthday party?

50 outdoor activities every child should experience - How many have your children tried?

I love this list of 50 things to do before you're 11 ^3/4.

Kids can sign up at 50things.org.uk and track their progress achieving each activity. I'm looking forward to helping Little Eco sign up and working our way through the activities she hasn't yet tried. 

Here's the list of 50 outdoor activities every child should experience:

1. Climb a tree

2. Roll down a really big hill

3. Camp out in the wild

4. Build a den

5. Skim a stone

6. Run around in the rain

7. Fly a kite

8. Catch a fish with a net

9. Eat an apple straight from a tree

10. Play conkers

11. Go on a really long bike ride

12. Make a trail with sticks

13. Make a mud pie

14. Dam a stream

15. Play in the snow

16. Make a daisy chain

17. Set up a snail race

18. Create some wild art

19. Play Pooh sticks

20. Jump over waves

21. Pick blackberries growing in the wild

22. Explore inside a tree

23. Visit a farm

24. Go on a walk barefoot

25. Make a grass trumpet

26. Hunt for fossils and bones

27. Go star gazing

28. Climb a huge hill

29. Explore a cave

30. Hold a scary beast

31. Hunt for bugs

32. Find some frogspawn

33. Catch a falling leaf

34. Track wild animals

35. Discover what’s in a pond

36. Make a home for a wild animal

37. Check out the crazy creatures in a rock pool

38. Bring up a butterfly

39. Catch a crab

40. Go on a nature walk at night 

41. Plant it, grow it, eat it

42. Go swimming in the sea

43. Build a raft

44. Go bird watching

45. Find your way with a map and compass

46. Try rock climbing

47. Cook on a campfire

48. Learn to ride a horse

49. Find a geocache

50. Canoe down a river

Any of these bring back fond childhood memories?

There's so many activities on that list that make me smile. Climbing a giant tree and cooking my first damper on a campfire are probably two of my favourite.

How are your children tracking? Little Eco has managed around 27/50 and I'm looking forward to helping her tick off the rest. 

The list was created by asking UK children to name their favourite outdoor activities, so there's a couple that may not be as relevant for Australian children - like conkers or pooh sticks. I'm looking forward to learning how to play those games. 

50 activities not enough? Caro and Co wrote a great list of the 100 things she believes children should experience before they depart childhood.  I especially love 'Fall out of a tree', and 'do nothing'. 

Inspired by this news story.  

Peeking into permaculture - International Permaculture Day

I want to grow my own food, but don’t want to have to spend hours in the garden every day. The idea of having a resilient and low maintenance productive garden appeals to me. Given my lazy gardener attitude, the concept of permaculture interests me.

Permaculture is about working with nature, rather than against it.

I’m particularly fond of Linda Woodrow’s attitude towards growing her own food. In her book, The Permaculture Home Garden, Linda writes that permaculture is about ..."saving the planet and living to be a hundred, while throwing very impressive dinner parties and organising other creatures to do most of the work." Sounds like a sensible plan to me.

My creature labour force currently includes guinea pigs, chooks and worms. I’m using guinea pig and chicken tractors to help prepare garden beds. The guinea pigs eat the weeds and grasses and leave behind fertiliser. The chooks then follow – destroying roots and adding more nutrients. We also employ a number of worm farms to turn our kitchen scraps into even more fertiliser.

Next I’d like to recruit pigs to prepare my front paddock for a food forest and ducks to help control pests. A couple of dairy cows fertilising my back paddock and a pair of Alpacas deterring foxes would be nice too.

Linda’s attitude to the aesthetics of a garden appeals to me as well. She suggests that “the best flavours come from the most seductive garden” and that “a garden has to be an art form to be really productive. It has to feed the eyes and ears and nose as well. It has to be a refuge, a place of reflection, creation and enchantment.” I agree with her sentiments that the “late, tired dash through bedlam with a shopping trolley compares very badly with a stroll through a seductive garden”.

Tomorrow, Sunday 5th May, is International Permaculture Day

I like visiting other people’s gardens for inspiration. I’m a garden sticky beak - so am really looking forward to International Permaculture Day tomorrow, with activities including dozens of open permaculture gardens across Australia.

We’re on the South Coast this weekend, so will visit a few gardens on our travels home, including tours of three Permablitz sites in Wollongong.

Local Hunter events include two farm tours and a wicking bed demonstration at Purple Pear Farm near Maitland (10am, 2pm, and 1pm respectively); a field day at Allyn River Permaculture near Dungog; and an open day at Limestone Permaculture Farm near Stroud. Permaculture Hunter is organising a bus trip for the day, visiting two of these farms. To join the bus trip call Ross on 0411174453. Details of these and other events can be found at permacultureday.org. 

[Originally published in the The Newcastle Herald 6th May 2013]

How to reuse canvas panels for kids painting again and again

Did you know it is possible to wash and reuse canvas art panels? If you use water-based washable paints you can wash off the original artwork with soapy water. After rinsing the canvas is ready to reuse. 

Little Eco has one large canvas that she has painted three times. Here it is above a few days ago being washed - and here it is a few years ago in the middle of a painting session.

It seems she likes full body painting today as much as she did then. 

Her most recent painting on this canvas started out tame. 

It quickly deteriorated into making face prints and full body painting. 

I really like the final product (bum print and all). It's now proudly hanging on the wall - although I'm certain within a year or so we'll be washing it yet again and creating something else. 

I'm sharing this and other ideas for making art outdoors over at Childhood 101 this week.