The nature hour – this is sacred time. In a day chock full, for these sixty minutes alone there is no to-do list. We’re busy. The mornings are hectic with day care logistics, commute and getting ready for work. And the end of the day can be a blur with little time between dinner, cleaning up and bedtime routines. But for at least sixty minutes every day, my nine month old baby and I feel mud ooze between our toes, marvel at the green canopy overhead, and gape at the setting sun.

Some days my baby spends the entire hour exploring while I hang back. He’s allowed to put dirt in his mouth, as he crawls around naked on the muddy slope next to a creek. Sometimes he stops mid-crawl to do what looks like a downward dog in the mud, getting every strand of his hair covered in mud. Other afternoons he uses the trunk of a tree to pull himself up and tentatively balance on the uneven roots under his feet. He wobbles as he hesitantly picks up one foot and then the other, awkwardly shuffling around this particular tree trunk.

Meghan Rolfe is responsible for all these amazing photographs:


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As a parent, I have to hush my desire to protect him from the unpleasant. I force myself to simply watch as he grunts his way up the muddy bank, his groans making it known just how hard this ascent is for him. It takes even more restraint to resist reaching out and helping him balance as he teeters on roots and rocks, not wanting to see him fall. But it’s in these small daily risks – crawling a little higher up the muddy bank and tentatively shuffling his little body a little further around the tree trunk balanced on uneven roots – that growth takes place. When my baby grapples with the uncomfortable, his confidence and independence is born. These are precisely the tools he will need down the road when life presents challenges and struggles.

The nature hour is his time to explore. I admire how brave and willing he is to take risks, me within sight but just outside of reach. He rewards me with a smile for my patience when he reaches the top of that muddy bank, or finally makes it around the trunk of that tree — the grin he flashes me lets me know he is proud of what he’s accomplished. And I am reminded that if we start young, our kids will be developing the skills they need to take bigger and bigger risks.

On other days the nature hour involves bringing my baby along for a trail run or on a hike. Our children watch us closely. If we want them to spend time outdoors, we have to do the same. If we believe free time should be spent hiking up mountains, kayaking down rivers, and splashing about in creeks, then we need to show our kids our values by living them. By my example, I present my child with a version of adult life that is fun and worth following. As he rides along in the running stroller or backpack, he cranes his little neck back and takes in the canopy overhead – lush and green from all these afternoon thunderstorms. And as we run and the forest ground passes by, he giggles and squeals with delight.

When I look into my 9 month baby boy’s bright blue eyes, I wish for an outdoor world his for the exploring. I want to raise my baby to be comfortable outside and confident in taking thoughtful risks. And that’s what the nature hour is all about.