As part of Tom Holman's Nature Literacy class at Southeast Missouri State University, students are introducing younger children from Prodigy Leadership Academy to the wonders of the outdoors. The course also is showing them how much fun -- and necessary -- getting unplugged from their computers and smartphones is.

Thursday, kindergarten through second grade students in Diana Schreiner's class went to the Missouri Department of Conservation Red Star access boat ramp area to explore the woods a bit and play games. Other activities are planned for Holman's and Prodigy Leadership Academy students through the end of April. Prodigy Leadership Academy, a private faith-based school, is grounded in experiential learning, said Holman, a Prodigy Leadership Academy board member.

Jennifer Britt, a Nature Literacy student, said she enjoyed herself, but was a little uneasy at first because she's not a teacher.

"It was actually easier than I thought it was," Britt said. "We took them out there and told them about the life cycle of a tree" and showed it to them in the little patch of woods near the dock.

Prodigy students Thursday found several creatures in one of the trees. "We showed them a live tree and [had] them measure how wide it was by basically becoming tree-huggers. That was funny. They actually really enjoyed that part," Britt said.

The students of Prodigy Leadership Academy have fun with a parachute Thursday after their nature walk in the woods at the Red Star Access in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

Attending a conference in Omaha, Neb., about "nature deficit disorder" inspired the seminar-style Nature Literacy course, put together by Holman and colleagues from Human Environmental Studies. The book used for Nature Literacy is Richard Louv's "The Nature Principle," which advocates finding a balance between technology and nature and how nature benefits people.

The 20 students in the course each take charge of a chapter, lead the class in a discussion about it and write a chapter reflection about it. Students also are required to have a nature experience and write about it. That experience can be an overnight canoe or kayaking trip down the Mississippi River, where students spend the night on an island, or something students do by themselves, Holman said.

"There's a growing group of young people that are growing up now with no exposure to nature. ... That's what Richard Louv's first book, 'Last Child in the Woods,' talks about," he added.

The Nature Experience Project, involving Prodigy Leadership students, is one aspect of the class. The Southeast students are split into groups, and pick the grades they want to work with, contact the teacher, write a lesson plan and outline their goals and objectives.

"I told my students here I want [the Prodigy students] to walk away from this experience thinking, 'You know, that was really cool and I can't wait to do that again.' They don't have to know the difference between a red oak and a white oak, a deer track and a raccoon track. And if [teachers] use that as part of the curriculum to get them to embrace nature and kind of hook them, then that's great. But if they don't, I just want them to get out into nature and taste it," said Holman, who is in his third semester of teaching Nature Literacy.

And taste it they did -- figuratively speaking.

"We were looking at dead trees that had fallen and live trees and insects," said Addie Long, an 8-year-old second-grader at Prodigy.

Manny Kinder, also an 8-year-old second-grader, said there was "animal stuff" and snails to look at.

"We found two slugs and some worms in the trees and little bee holes," said 6-year-old kindergarten student Will Lewis.

Schreiner said she thinks the Nature Experience is "wonderful," because even at their age, they're "very aware of all the apps that are out there and they love the computer."

" ... I think it's a great appreciation of nature and being outside," Schreiner said. "Children, I think, naturally want to be outside and they love to go and explore ... They're constantly saying, 'Look what I found! Look what I found!' So their excitement is very much there. I don't think they would recognize that on a standard playground with the regular concrete and the playground equipment."

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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