Albuquerque
At Play In The Bosque
Children Romp in Nature at Free Forest School By TANIA SOUSSAN
Every Sunday morning, a group of young children has been turning a section of the Albuquerque bosque into a playground, climbing on a downed cottonwood tree, wading in the Rio Grande and building forts out of sticks. The gatherings are part of a new Free Forest School chapter organized by Alex Reedin, who moved to Albuquerque from Portland last summer with his husband and their 3- and 4year-old daughters. “It’s mostly unstructured play time,” he said. “A nice thing about playing outside is there are very few rules.” The group communicates through a Facebook page and meets Sunday mornings at the Alameda Picnic Area & Trail parking lot, also known as the Alameda Open Space parking lot. Then they walk together about a quarter of a mile to their “base camp.” Charli Simpler, 1, plays in the mud at the Rio Grande durThe gatherings are ing a Free Forest School session. Photos by Rhiannon free, and the group is Mercer-Simpler. run by volunteers. Free Forest School, a national organization, aims to foster the next generation of environmental stewards by giving children up to 6 years old a chance to play independently in nature – something that kids commonly did a generation or two ago. These days, “nature-deficit disorder,” the lack of exposure to the outdoors among children and adults is common. “Research shows nature play benefits children’s health, supporting social-emotional, physical and cognitive development and wellness,” according to the national Free Forest School organization. “Yet time spent outdoors in unstructured play is at an all-time low and many children face significant barriers to playing in nature.” Free Forest School was founded by mother and educator Anna Sharratt in 2015 and now has chapters around the country. There also are private, fee-based forest schools in Albuquerque and around the world. The principles of forest schools include regular meetings in the same woodland environment with opportunities for hands-on learning. Camella Rogers runs Moonbeams, a Waldorf-inspired forest school that meets in the bosque and the East Mountains. continued on page 14
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New Mexico Kids!
March/April 2019