By KARI PELAEZ

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder with any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” —Rachel Carson

Through a gateway, down a leafy path lies a magical place called Habitat Hollow. In this wooded clearing are cedar trees and alder trees and fir trees. In this place, children come and pretend. They imagine. They build. They create. They make friends.

In Habitat Hollow, the possibilities are as endless as a child’s imagination. Fern fronds become roofs. Fir branches bend to become doors. Cedar bark turns into a wall.

In Habitat Hollow, children get their hands dirty. They play in the woods. They build homes for creatures big and small. Maybe a mouse will move in, maybe a banana slug will sleep there. Some children cooperate with a friend and construct a habitat. Some children prefer solo work. What they all do is relax, enjoy the shade on a hot day or the shelter on a rainy day. They all imagine and create and play.

Do the children in your life — your offspring or your grandchildren or nieces and nephews or a friend’s kids — have a magical place to be outside in nature: a place with no electronics, a place where the singing of birds and the aroma of trees surrounds you? These places aren’t hard to find. Walk on a trail. Stop and notice the leaves or the mushrooms or other clues of life around you.

Help the children find the space and then step back and watch. They may need some time to understand how to play with only sticks and dirt. That’s OK. At first you may need to help, give suggestions and direction. That’s OK, too. But they will love it.

It’s like trying a new food,  it may take a time, or three, to enjoy but soon they’ll be requesting to go outside to the “place.” And then you can enjoy and observe the seasons: catch a whiff of the skunk cabbage in spring, pick berries in the summer, count fungi in the fall and listen for birds in the winter.

As a young person, I lived within bike ride distance of Discovery Park in Seattle. My best friend and I would pack picnic lunches and go exploring. We found frogs in ponds. We had a favorite tree. We climbed “cliffs.” We hung out in the visitor center and admired the stuffed shrew. This was a formative experience for me. We had independence. We grew to love the nature around us. We bonded with each other and with the “place.”

What was your place? Was it a beach? A spot in your backyard or the empty lot down the street?

Give the gift of a special, magical place. Go outside. Move toward the trees and into the dirt. Build a fairy house, a fort, a habitat hut. Encourage the excitement of exploration. And then smile because you helped a child (and yourself) find joy in the natural world.

— Kari Pelaez is program outreach assistant of Stillwaters Environmental Education Center in Kingston.