Children Get Chance to Interact with Nature

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TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — The Natchez Trace Parkway teamed up with Mississippi State University Extension to give children a chance to interact with nature.

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science also took part in the second annual Bioblitz at the parkway headquarters. Children got to take part in nature walks to explore the ecosystem, searching for insects, reptiles, birds and various plants. Leslie Burger is an assistant extension professor, with Mississippi State. She says this gives children the chance to be exposed to natural science.

“What we see are two things happening,” she says. “We have a disconnect with nature so I think some people don’t understand what’s happening in the outdoors and the natural world. And we depend on that so heavily for clean water and clean air. But we also have a disinterest in science because many children grow up reading textbooks and they don’t understand that science is hands and it’s very interactive, ” Burger notes.

Burger says the bioblitz workshops connected people to the outdoors by interacting with real scientists. The event coincided with the beginning of National Parks Week.