Kids from Leopold Elementary explore their snowy woods. They kept saying, “It’s so pretty!” “Muy hermosa!” Madison Audubon photo
During late January, a scavenger hunt ensued in the snowy woods of Cherokee Marsh. In partnership, Madison Audubon and the Vera Court Community Center’s youth program spent a comfortably chilly afternoon seeing, feeling, and hearing nature. Fuzzy sumac branches tickled the tips of their fingers. Tracks imprinted in the snow walked the kid’s imaginations through moments in a deer’s life: A search beneath the snow for sticks to munch and travel toward a thicket of dense, but brittle, grasses to cozy up for a warm night’s sleep. Barren raspberry bush thorns were seen in sharp form against the white snow, a sight veiled by greenery in the summer months. Frozen leaves cracked and crinkled in hand. Small buds emergred on trees and promised the kids that spring was not too far away. Winter reminded everyone that it’s time was now by tousling the group’s hair with a chilly breeze.
The dry oak leaves rustled in the same wind that frosted their fingers. They listened to each other’s feet crunch, crunch, crunch in the crystallized snow. A quiet but powerful sound caught their attention; a low, echoing call, above our eyes and ears and fingers, resounded through Cherokee Marsh. Kids and adults alike closed their mouths and glued their feet to the snow to try and hear it again...
A patient group, they peered around at each other, wide-eyed with anticipation. Hushed gasps and little clouds of frosty breath emitted as all ears heard, “who cooks for you?” The Barred Owl hooted through the marsh, entrancing many children who had just heard their first owl speaking to its world. “Who cooks for you-all?”
Barred owl photo by Phil Brown
Madison Audubon’s education programming uses experiences like these to connect youth with nature. Some moments, like hearing an owl, are dramatic and exciting. Everyone stops to experience it together. Other moments are small things, strung together like daisies braided into a chain. The more time a child spends in nature, the more a love of nature is woven through their daily life - and that is something we all benefit from! Thank you for supporting our programming, and for helping get more kids outside!
Written by Mary Cretney, Madison Audubon education intern winter 2019-2020, and Carolyn Byers, education director
Cover photo by Arlene Koziol
