On Friday, December 12, the Children’s House students, aged four to six years old, went on a cleanup effort at the Botanical Gardens. It was the ultimate delight to watch young children function in nature.

For one hour the children were observed communicating and helping one another carry out tasks that would have normally been done by adults. They were all focused on an important objective, which was to help their community.

However, the outcome was so much more than that. The children proved that they are a part of the community that can add significant value. They reinforced that children are not helpless, dependent beings, but strong, independent people, who given the opportunity, can make significant contributions to their environment.

As we trekked through the cluster of indigenous trees and shrubs, I watched a four-year-old approach a five-year-old struggling to carry a palm leaf that was so big all you could see was her feet and ask “do you need some help?” I witnessed four boys working together to carry a massive palmetto palm that must have been about 6ft long.

This was camaraderie and selflessness at its best. I overheard two four-year-olds remark “this is fun” as they walked side by side along the trail. I saw three very small children clamber over the trunk of a fallen cedar tree. The third child was a little girl who had to try three times before she was able to get over the trunk. The children were able to communicate, collaborate, and assess what was a safe risk, all vital skills that will enable them to function productively in society as they get older. Not to mention the development of their gross motor, visual, and auditory skills.

Cleaning up the gardens encouraged the children to use important attributes that we do our best to foster within our classroom environments.

A significant aspect with all of the interactions that were seen and heard was that there was no adult intervention at all. These four- and five-year-olds did this without any prompting or guidance from a teacher or a parent. Most of the children, if not all of them were able to follow direction, execute the task, and move onto the next adventure with marginal guidance from adults. Remarkable … but not surprising. Spending time in nature gives children the chance to intuitively hone these vital skills.

Maria Montessori knew this when she said: “When children succeed in being interested in and in observing the phenomena of nature of their own accord, then we may be certain that nature will have a great influence on children themselves.” The excerpt is from the forthcoming Nature in Education, originally written in 1913.

The most important outcome of this adventure was the prospect of fostering a stewardship for their environment, country, and the world they live in. By giving the children the opportunity to spend time in nature and an opportunity to take care of it, we have hopefully planted a seed of desire to look after something that we all should treasure and respect. It also instils in them, without a word having been uttered by an adult, that their contribution as protectors and carers of their world matters.

It was also interesting to watch how the children used the space and loose parts to play. They ran freely over the grass, they climbed over and along tree stumps that had been cut. They rolled down a massive hill. They explored the underbelly of a fallen tree that had its roots exposed for touching and inspecting. There was no tattle tailing, arguing or fighting. Each child had enough space to move as they wished.

What a wonderful thing we were able to give them all for just one hour.