Outside is where we ought to be
Forest Walks at Little Earth
At Little earth we celebrate the Earth and the wonderful gifts it brings to each and every one of us. Nearby Nikau Reserve is a beautiful place to visit for our unique Forest Walk programme.
The Forest Walks at Little Earth are very popular with our children and parents, who join us on our forest walks. The children explore and play in the forest and are introduced to the beautiful treasures of Tane, guardian of the forest. The reserve provides many challenges and interesting features for the children to play and explore. They are happy climbing over logs, lifting up branches and exploring the stream, using sticks for “fishing”, jumping over the stream or just walking through it. The many palm leaves on the forest floor also provide plenty of challenges. There are plenty of fungus and insects on the fallen logs alongside the path, and the children enjoy observing them. We do not bring toys, instead we bring magnifiers, field guides, and binoculars for the children to use. At the end of the track, just outside the forest, is a picnic table where we sit down for a moment, talk about our experiences, make sure everybody is accounted for and start our walk back to Little Earth.
Exploring and immersing into the natural environment is a beautiful way of introducing the children to the Earth. They learn real life skills in a real life setting, using their senses and having real life experiences, whilst at the same time developing their understanding of care and respect. We do not take any treasures out of the forest, what is in the forest, stays in the forest. Each creature, no matter what size, deserves our care and respect. We visit the forest two or three times per week for a whole morning session with the help of our parents.
" That moment of Wonder is the source of all spiritual growth" Richard Louv