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What is a naturalist?
Go Outside and Play
Getting Started |
GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY
Remember when you were a kid sitting on the couch on Saturday
morning watching cartoons and your mother would come in and say,
“Why don’t you go outside and play? It’s such a pretty day.” As
reluctant as you were to leave Shaggy and Scooby to solve the
mystery alone, you would drag yourself off the couch and go out and
get on your bike. As much as you hated to admit it, Mom was right.
It was nice outside and you probably did not come home until she
called you for dinner.
It is still nice outside and hopefully this website will be an
inspiration for you to “go outside and play”. I heard a statistic
that claimed the average American spends 90% of his life indoors. At
first I found that statistic hard to believe. But if you think about
how we live our modern lives, you will realize how true it is. We
are very isolated from the outside world. We eat, sleep, work and
play in climate controlled environments. Our busy lives combined
with our isolation from the natural world make it easy to forget
that we are an integral part of it.
North Florida offers such an amazing diversity of places to enjoy
outdoor activities. When you get out there to engage in your
favorite outdoor activity, take the time to really look at the
natural environment that surrounds you. What kind of bird was that?
Why is this water so dark? What kind of plant is that? Why does it
grow here? When you start asking questions like these, and seeking
answers, you will be thinking as a naturalist. When you find the
answers to the questions, you will have a greater understanding of
and appreciation for the environment that surrounds you. I can also
promise you that the answers you find will amaze you. Inevitably an
answer will lead to another question. The complexities of nature are
fascinating. So, go outside and play and while you are out there
take the time to get reconnected.
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