Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Working with 5 and 6 year olds outdoors all day every day opened my eyes to how much they can appreciate nature if we nurture that interest and teach them to respect it. Like most kids that age, my campers loved seeing animals! It was easy to catch a turtle or snake and show them that - but they loved the bunnies, raccoons and deer we would see around the park. Those are a little
harder to catch. But they wanted to help them so I got to design a lesson on habitat and then together we made small mammal habitat. In the wooded areas we collected fallen branches and then constructed brush piles that could serve as protection for the little
animals. The kids loved building these â€œhousesâ€ as they called them, and every day we got to walk by and watch for any animals in the area.
It was a relatively easy project to do with all the kids, and it was so rewarding. They got to be a part of habitat restoration, and who knows what this has inspired them to keep doing!