the Relation between Nature Photography and Kids

It is no secret that introducing the outdoors to our children helps them develop an appreciation for the natural world around them, and it helps develop an understanding of its importance and why it needs to be respected and cared for. It’s all about that saying that “Our children are the living messages we send to a future we will ever see” ; about how we need to teach them from early on and set them up the right path.

Experiencing Nature

Take for example insects. Many people are afraid of insects, but yet they are a great teaching tool for kids. For example, insects are useful for an extraordinary range of lessons, from metamorphosis to diversity. You can take the kids outside and look for them in nature, or keep them indoors as they are inexpensive and easy to care for.

Interacting with insects can help children appreciate nature. Something easy as rearing butterflies or moths at home, or simply observing these insects outside, gives children the opportunity for a hands-on learning experience. More often than not, observing these insects leads to further inquiry and curiosity about the natural environment in which they’re found. It comes as no surprise that studies have found that children who have many experiences in nature at a young age develop positive attitudes toward animals and the environment.

It is time for us to start caring, as some study concluded when researchers pulled together data on the range and number of nearly 20,000 insect species, including bees, ants, butterflies, grasshoppers and dragonflies, at about 6,000 different locations. In areas with high-intensity agriculture and substantial warming, insect numbers have plunged by 49% and the number of different species by 27%... We need to acknowledge how important insects are for the environment as a whole, and for human health and our wellbeing.

And why am I writing this today you’ll ask? Because in the digital age we live now, photography is a wonderful medium to introduce kids to nature it and let them share it with others easily. You can in a way not only stimulate their interest in nature but also expand their artistic vision, which they can later put out in any creative form they prefer.

Let’s get back to insects to make it easier in this article: most of the kids will be able to observe them with their naked eye, but there is something so wonderful detailed and sometimes out-of-this-world to them, that it deserves to be seen more up close and show them what this tiny earth under their feet is made out of! The most favored must be the honey bee because they see it wandering from flower to flower collecting pollen, back to the hive and turn all this into honey which they can taste….it’s a wonderful all round way to teach kids about pollination, animal behavior and the importance for us as a human species they are able to do their job.

So now let’s show them not only what they can see with their eyes, but show them up close of what they look like and how that pollen adheres to their body, and they soon marvel over details which then they use in their artistic vision afterwards. The more we can make them be in awe, the better chance we stand of our future making better choices.

The Role of a Photographer

And so it is that I sometimes get requests by schools or teachers, to speak a bit about that tiny nature and macro photography, where they shared some of my pictures and the kids get fascinated by looking at these tiny creatures in detail, which in my eyes is just wonderful.

The latest request came from Ms. Pooja Khanna Nigam, who is an early childhood educator and founder of the “Saplings Nursery school – Growing Upwards” in Mumbai (India) where her students, aged between 3 and 6, had just done a work about insects & flowers and had been exploring outside together with game activities (as Bug Explorers). Since the following Monday would be India’s Children’s Day and her kids enjoyed my pictures, she asked me if it would be possible to send a short letter and a picture of an insect to show her kids on that day.

I immediately liked the idea and more seeing her dedication and words to show she really was looking to make a change from as early on in her students education: “ If global warming is to be avoided, the next generation must learn how to care for the environment from an early age. Environmental science must be taught in pre-schools worldwide.”

And so I took it a step further and asked in return that her students on Children’s Day, would take out their crayons and painted me the insect they loved the best and send pictures over, so I could share them. And so they did and this amazing little collaboration worked out beautiful, with these little kids interested in nature around them and enjoying their creative process!

Thank you Ms. Pooja, all your lovely little Bug Explorers and their parents for making this a wonderful collaboration and sharing their work and smiles with me afterwards. As I said in my letter: “Enjoy your classes, be a good student and grow up to whatever you want to be. And don’t forget to take care of nature for us.”

I hope you enjoyed this kind of different post but can see ways that your photography can help and move the world. Don’t just shoot pictures for yourself but be open to share your knowledge and be a role model for someone…it might just change a little kids idea about the future.

A special thanks to a friend and fellow nature photographer David from Texas (USA) too, for joining in this collaboration and making see kids a new amazing world!

If you enjoyed reading it, let me know in a comment down of course. If you are a teacher and want to check out more curious tiny animals fatcs, check out my Nature Facts for Kids. If you all found this enjoyable to read you can always invite me a coffee of course :)

See you next time!

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