Shared by Monica Hoel, volunteer blogger for Hungry Mother State Park, as Guest Blogger.

Working remotely from home has had some bright spots. One of the brightest in my neighborhood is having a 3-year-old who is interested in everything. His creative mother has had crafts, walks and learning activities for him every day, so it has inspired others in the neighborhood to join the fun. 

Backyard learning can be fun and not cost a thing

I have set up little learning paths in my yard for him to explore whenever they get tired of their own happy homestead.

• Old fast-food salad containers make great enclosures for old magazine pictures of wild animals to talk about.
• Those little dog bones that come with a box of doggie poop bags are just the right size to hold hidden notes with interesting nature facts: we label those “something to chew on.”
• Empty saltine boxes cut into panels make little signs with questions for further research when he and his mom get back home.
• Sometimes he finds materials for craft projects to take home: like a milk carton bird feeder he can paint. (Their house finches love it!)

An empty milk carton makes a great house for the birds

The point of this story is -- I’ve not had to go to the store to buy a single thing for this project.

Recycle old containers to hide treasures and notes

During this really weird time I have started asking friends...and myself… “What will you do differently when all this is over?” Time and time again, answers include a realization that we can do more with less. We can create less pollution. We can create less waste. In short, through this crazy experience we’re finding that there are kinder, less intrusive ways to live on this planet. But we are going to have to develop better habits.

Long before the word COVID ever entered our daily speech, recycling programs were disappearing from every town and county. We can no longer rely on a system that will clean up our messes. The only way to reduce trash and plastic waste is to take responsibility for the way we shop and consume.

When I told my hairdresser I was using shampoo bars instead of bottled product, she said it sounded like extra trouble. I explained that it wasn’t so much “trouble” as getting into new habits. Not taking a plastic straw, using reusable grocery bags, buying juice in frozen concentrate instead of plastic jugs, buying drinks in aluminum cans instead of plastic, reusing an item before it goes to the landfill -- some people might call that trouble, but it might just be better habits.

Natural items from your backyard, along with odds and ends found at home,
can create a lot of fun times and memories

I realize the items I’ve been using for my neighbor’s exploring paths aren’t going to be saved as heirlooms. (Although there is a certain piggy bank made from a juice bottle currently residing by his bed.) But those items have now been used at least twice before being turned into waste. And I didn’t buy new items -- which, frankly, would just have been trashed after a single use.

My work as a volunteer with Virginia Master Naturalist and Hungry Mother State Park has taught me many lessons about the interactions and interdependence of plants and animals. I’m ready to cultivate the sort of habits that will make me a more helpful species on our planet.