Last week we had some elementary school kids come out to the Pollinator Pasture in Kelowna to plant milkweed that they had started in their classrooms. The kids were so excited and serious about it. I had a conversation with one of the other adults about childhood and how great it is for kids to be able to get out into the natural world and learn about it. They had a blast learning how to plant their milkweed and are excited to come back and see how the plants grow.
Right now I’m visiting family and enjoying Spring in Saskatchewan (it snowed Thursday night!). After wandering around and visiting all my favourite spots on my parents’ land – the beavers have done a beautiful job of damming up the water on either side of the road … again – I was thinking about how great it was that I had this place to spend my summers at when I was a kid.
My nephews were very excited to tell me all about this new “magic” door that Grandpa had built. When I wandered out into the yard this morning and down the hill I found the “magic” door … a little gate with a round hole in it and the words Tir Na Nog written on it. Tir Na Nog is, in Irish mythology, the Land of Youth. The trees around the little gate create a little world when they leaf out … and the kids love to build little nests and forts underneath them. Now they will have a little gate, just their size, that they can go through into the land of youth.
I think it is so important that one of the things the Pollinator Pasture team does is get kids out to put up bee homes and help with the planting on site. It honours their right to learn and experience the natural world. Childhood is a precious time and it is fleeting. So are the wild spaces and creatures that dwell in them.
