Hiking in Big Sur (California) with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
When I saw that the Ventana Wilderness Society was offering a day camp for children, I immediately enrolled my daughter Florence in the “Hooray for Habitats” program.
The Ventana Wilderness Society had successfully reintroduced
bald eagles and condors to the Big Sur Wilderness area, and I fully trusted
them to give children a great educational experience in ecology and
conservation.
I dropped Florence off everyday at the Carmel Crossroads
Shopping Center and got reports on what the children had done at night. Florence was subdued when I picked her up,
because hiking is an integral part of Ventana Wilderness programs.
The first day of camp the children went on a hike through
the Redwood Forest at Pfeiffer State Park.
There is a small waterfall along the hiking trail there. However, Florence said she spent most of the
time there letting a little girl know she was going to be okay. The Redwood trees tower above you at Pfeiffer
State Park and make the woods dark.
Illustrations for books about Hansel and Gretel show a similar
landscape; maybe the little girl was thinking about that. (Youth Services Librarian’s analysis)
On the second day of camp, the children went tide-pooling at
Point Lobos (lobos means “sea wolves” in Spanish, referring to sea lions). This craggy piece of land with cypress
forests juts out into the Pacific Ocean.
There are many coves, and that is where the children looked for starfish
and shells. They examined them and put
them back into the water without hurting or damaging the animals. Tide-pooling is not souvenir hunting.
Day three was a hike through the oak woodlands of Garland
Ranch Regional Park. Our family had been
there on picnics and had gone hiking on their many trails. They have a field of old farm equipment that
has been “donated” for use by children.
I knew the children had all been pretending to drive tractors when I
picked Florence up.
Things got a bit more physical for the children on
Thursday. They hiked in Elkhorn Slough,
looking for birds, and went kayaking.
You can see birds, fish, and crabs in the Slough’s water. Elkhorn Slough is shallow, which makes it
possible to see fish swimming. The water
is also very clear to aid in fish sightings.
Thursday was also camping night under the Redwoods in
Pfeiffer State Park. Camp guides told
the children about bugs and other wildlife that come out at night. I am sure the animal stories kept the
children in their tents.
Friday was a day of giddy excitement for the children. They helped the biologists band birds by the
Big Sur River. The children had to go
from giddy to gentle to handle the birds.
Florence told me that she put bracelets on robins to help the
scientists.
Learning the gentleness to band birds was one of the best
outcomes for Florence from the Ventana Wilderness Society’s “Hooray for
Habitats” camp I thought. Hiking in
nature with explanations of what you are seeing along the way is great for
children and adults, too. You forget you
are exercising when you do this.
I felt Florence had learned about Monterey County’s natural
beauty on this trip as well the need to preserve it based on scientific
knowledge.
By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
 |
| Ruth Paget Selfie |
