The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. 
– Marcel Proust

An online article by Stephanie Tyler, “Flirting With the World,” includes these thoughts about human’s relationship with the natural world:

“The world, I’ve discovered, is a masterful flirt. It leaves little gifts everywhere—the way morning light catches in spider webs, how rain releases that earthy sweetness into the air (petrichor, they call it, though no word could fully capture that particular alchemy of water and dust that smells like pure possibility), the particular green of new leaves that somehow manages to be both ancient and urgent. But here’s the thing about flirtation: it requires participation. The world can bat its eyelashes all it wants, but if we’re not looking, if we’re not present enough to catch the gesture, the moment dies unwitnessed.”

An online Nature Explore workshop on July 2, 2025 at 1 pm Central time, “Fostering Creativity in the Outdoor Classroom,” will support educators, and the children they care about, in developing a deep relationship with the natural world.

During this FREE 1-hour live online session, Nature Explore’s lead Child Development Specialists Heather Fox and Kirsten Haugen will talk with special guests Christine Kiewra, Assistant Professor of Practice at University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and Ellen Veselack, Executive Director of the Child Educational Center in La Cañada, California, to explore the role that natural outdoor environments, natural and reclaimed loose parts, and caring, observant adults play in supporting young children. Ellen and Chris’ research on the topic has been instrumental in shaping the Nature Explore approach. There will be time to discuss your thoughts and questions about nurturing creativity outdoors.