Letting nature be the teacher: Charlemont resident Karen Hogness mentors kids to explore and love the outdoors

Charlemont resident Karen Hogness, who calls herself a “nature elder,” brings loads of tools and supplies into the woods to aid in exploration when she mentors young children outdoors.

Charlemont resident Karen Hogness, who calls herself a “nature elder,” brings loads of tools and supplies into the woods to aid in exploration when she mentors young children outdoors. Courtesy Karen Hogness

Charlemont resident Karen Hogness teams up with kindergarten teachers at the Academy School in Brattleboro to ensure that each participating child has access to head-to-toe protective gear for their forays into nature, regardless of financial circumstances.

Charlemont resident Karen Hogness teams up with kindergarten teachers at the Academy School in Brattleboro to ensure that each participating child has access to head-to-toe protective gear for their forays into nature, regardless of financial circumstances. Courtesy Karen Hogness

Karen Hogness believes that allowing time and space for outdoor adventures in all seasons helps children develop love for nature that will last a lifetime, leading to habits and choices that protect our planet. Hogness also notices that sufficient outdoor time leads to increased focus within the classroom.

Karen Hogness believes that allowing time and space for outdoor adventures in all seasons helps children develop love for nature that will last a lifetime, leading to habits and choices that protect our planet. Hogness also notices that sufficient outdoor time leads to increased focus within the classroom.

Charlemont resident Karen Hogness is known as “Sparky” to children and adults alike as she mentors Brattleboro area kindergarteners in outdoor adventures. She refers to her backpack as “my Mary Poppins bag,” as it contains all sorts of magical tools and resources to aid children during explorations.

Charlemont resident Karen Hogness is known as “Sparky” to children and adults alike as she mentors Brattleboro area kindergarteners in outdoor adventures. She refers to her backpack as “my Mary Poppins bag,” as it contains all sorts of magical tools and resources to aid children during explorations. Courtesy Karen Hogness

When Charlemont resident Karen Hogness mentors young children outdoors, her approach is a mix of planned and spontaneous activities. If a child wonders about something they see on land, in water, or in the sky, Hogness can almost certainly provide information or know where to find it.

When Charlemont resident Karen Hogness mentors young children outdoors, her approach is a mix of planned and spontaneous activities. If a child wonders about something they see on land, in water, or in the sky, Hogness can almost certainly provide information or know where to find it. Courtesy Karen Hogness

By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

For the Recorder

Published: 09-05-2023 5:00 AM

Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series about Charlemont resident Karen Hogness, who mentors young children in outdoor settings. Part two will explore her collaborations with Dennis Avery, her husband and longtime business partner.

Many of the kindergartners who enjoy outdoor time with Charlemont resident Karen Hogness approach her in subsequent years with comments like, “Sparky, look what I found in the woods!” or “You’ll never believe what I saw last week, Sparky!”

Hogness, who calls herself a “nature elder,” recycled a childhood nickname when choosing how her grandkids would address her. She began volunteering with young children when her now-11-year-old grandchild, Elsa, was in kindergarten. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators soon followed Elsa’s lead, and Hogness became “Sparky” to the entire school community.

“I had just retired when Elsa started kindergarten, and was looking for things to do,” said Hogness. She and her husband of 49 years, Dennis Avery, owned and operated Avery’s General Store in downtown Charlemont for close to 45 years, making them the fifth generation to run the Avery family business. It would’ve been perfectly understandable if Hogness and Avery had — upon their retirement — decided to eschew public service after decades of putting heart and soul into the iconic store, yet they share the belief that retirement is a time to serve the community.

“Elsa’s teacher (at the Academy School in Brattleboro) was starting a forest program one half-day per week,” said Hogness. “As a lifelong nature lover, I have loads of fun info to share, so I asked the teacher if she’d like a volunteer. I had no expectations, but she and I hit it off immediately.” Since then, the program has expanded, and older kids as well as kindergartners now spend more time learning and playing outdoors.

“Our program is based on free play rather than specific curricula,” said Hogness. “We let nature be the teacher. As a facilitator, I bring a fully stocked backpack into the woods; I think of it as my Mary Poppins bag. When a child comes to me and says, ‘Hey, Sparky, look at this,’ I’m prepared with all kinds of supplies, including twine, scissors, saw, field guides, fire building materials, buckets, magnifying glasses, calipers, rulers, and other tools. We can fully explore whatever caught their interest.”

Hogness emphasizes the importance of getting kids outdoors. “I love watching their joy when kids have the freedom to run around,” she said. “If they’re happy, curious, and filled with wonder, they’ll want to go to school.” She believes outdoor time is a crucial alternative to classroom time. “(Children) need to expand, run, jump, and collaborate in ways that are hard to do in the classroom. Outdoors, kids can figure out who they are, what they like, what they don’t like. When they breathe fresh air and have strong bodies, it’s easier to listen and pay attention in the classroom.”

Youngsters retain their love of nature as they grow, said Hogness. As a result, “they’re constantly interested in what they see, and they learn that there’s a world beyond computer screens. While we’re outdoors, if a kid says they’re bored, I just invite them to look around. They get engaged; maybe they start to build something.” Hogness believes that early appreciation of nature evolves into impulses to nurture and care for it. “When we love the outdoors, we want to protect it,” she said.

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Hogness doesn’t have a lot of pretense about being a nature educator, “even though that’s my role, and I’m good at it. When I heard the term ‘nature elder,’ I thought it was perfect. I simply allow my love of plants and animals to be a resource.” Her work is a mix of planned and spontaneous activities, based on what kids are interested in at the moment. “If they’re curious about salamanders, I have dozens of files and loads of info to share.”

When the pandemic interrupted the ability to gather in person, Hogness remained connected with students and their families through a weekly letter. “I’d pick a fun and interesting subject like skunk cabbage or birds’ nests, sharing information and offering craft ideas.” The following year, the school chose a hybrid model: every other day in-person, with intervening days conducted virtually. “On in-person days, the whole school moved outdoors; each grade had its own area in the woods,” said Hogness. “In fact, that’s what tipped the whole school into wanting to be an outdoor education hub.”

Of the three public schools in Brattleboro, the Academy School is the largest, and is fortunate to border a significant tract of land, most of which is privately owned. “The school owns a tiny bit of forest, but we’re lucky that the owners allow us to use a lot of the land.” Projects instigated by the school have included the creation of paths, and there’s ongoing close collaboration between the school and the landowning family. “It’s a perfect union,” said Hogness. “The family is very supportive.”

Before outdoor programming was put in place, teachers acquired grant funding and received a green light from the school board. “Grant funding enabled us to supply kids with head-to-toe outdoor gear,” said Hogness. “Every kindergartner has access to insulated snow pants, water shoes, waders … exactly the same gear, regardless of their financial circumstances.”

There’s a school garden, too, said Hogness. “Every class has a garden bed and grows vegetables. The kids also have the opportunity to witness and participate in cooking outdoors in a big community fire pit near a shelter.”

In a year-end letter to students’ families this past June, Hogness outlined some activities she’d shared with their children, including in-depth study of local mammals, plant life cycles and seed dispersal, birds’ nests, tracking, winter adaptation, animal camouflage, and the sounds of springtime. “Together we have learned to observe, compare, and make smart guesses,” Hogness wrote in the letter. “More often, however, we learn on the go.”

Hogness and several teachers work as a team in the forest. “It’s our goal to simply accompany your kids as they engage with the forest around them,” Hogness wrote in her year-end letter. “We’re there to witness, encourage, provide information, and to foster a respect for the natural world. The sticks, rocks, mud, pinecones, leaves, and stream water they find to play with are all they need. Your kids are endlessly imaginative. They’re strong, confident, and capable. In their time in the forest, they’ve learned to collaborate and negotiate, and have come together as a class to take care of each other with touching concern and kindness. They are also learning to treat the creatures and plants they encounter the same way.”

Tune in next week, dear readers, for more about Hogness’s outdoor work, as well as other exciting projects.

Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope,” as well as an artist, musician and mom. To contact her: eveline@amandlachorus.org.