Hiking the Seven C’s

To view the photo-rich magazine version, click here.

Originally appears in the Summer 2020 issue.

By Brad Daniel

As a field educator for over 35 years, I have derived great joy from taking groups into various outdoor settings to help them learn about the natural history of those places. In the field, students obtain knowledge and make new connections. They experience epiphanies stimulated in part by discovering new places. They make memories and develop community forged by common experiences in the outdoors. Yes, field excursions can be educational, inspirational, and fun.

Henry David Thoreau often went out to explore nature for hours, only to find that he did not travel far from his cabin at Walden Pond. There was simply too much to see close by. Today, local nature exploration is sometimes the main option in light of the pandemic-spurred travel restrictions. Luckily, you do not have to go far to find something in the natural world that stirs wonder. What is that bug? What animal made those tracks? Is this plant edible? Is it toxic? Questions abound as we carefully observe the beauty, simplicity, and complexity of the natural world.