Book Review: Outdoor Kids
A Practical Guide for Kids in the Garden by Jamie Durie
Outdoor Kids includes more than 40 gardening activities for kids and is a great guide for parents who want to share a love of gardening and nature with their children.
Jamie Durie is well known to Australian audiences as a co-presenter of the television gardening program Backyard Blitz and a variety of other lifestyle programs. His 2005 book Outdoor Kids (Jamie Durie Publishing) provides parents with a range of practical activities to introduce children to gardening, caring for the environment and enjoying the outdoors.
Inspiring Children to Explore the Outdoors
Outdoor Kids is divided into four sections, with the first aptly titled Let’s Go Outside. This encompasses the philosophy of Outdoor Kids – getting children away from their electronic indoor entertainment and out into the yard and garden to experience fresh air, nature and room to move.
There are instructions for a basic gardening tool set and safety guidelines for working in the yard, including sun protection. There is also practical advice on how to incorporate teaching children about the environment and conservation issues with simply having some wonderful family time in the fresh air and sunshine. Emphasise is placed on the importance of respecting nature and the benefits for children as they learn to nurture and care for plants and their environment.
Fun for all Seasons
Seasons, the second section, provides activities for each season of the year. It discusses teaching children about the rhythms of nature and each season includes a description of what is happening below and above ground during that time of year.
Activities aren’t limited specifically to gardening. They also include collecting autumn leaves for a collage, building a cubby house and following the trail of a water droplet across and nasturtium leaf.
Outdoor Kids is about more than simply gardening. It reminds parents that gardens are full of exciting sights, sounds and smells to stimulate the senses of all ages.
Children Active in the Garden
The third section, Dig, lists ways that children can be actively involved in establishing and maintaining a garden. This is the most practical section of the book from a gardening point of view, with tips on preparing garden beds, planting trees and shrubs and choosing and caring for a variety of plants including herbs, bulbs, succulents, vegetables and flowers.
Children Nurturing the Environment
The final section, Nurture, provides information on establishing an environmentally friendly garden. There are chemical-free options for dealing with snails and other garden pests, water conservation tips, and instructions for composting, recycling and establishing a worm farm.
Durie’s passion for teaching children and adults how to care for their surroundings shines through. Parents who want to bring the big picture issue of conservation back to a level a child can understand will find many useful tips and suggestions in these pages.
Jamie Durie Profile
Jamie Durie is a landscape designer, qualified horticulturist and founder of the international award winning design company Patio Landscape Architecture and Design. He has authored six landscape and gardening books and currently appears regularly as a team member on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He is also the most recent host of the long-running PBS gardening program The Victory Garden Show.
Outdoor Kids is more than a gardening book. It encourages families to take time to enjoy their environment and is a guide for parents who want to foster a love of the outdoors in their children. It reminds parents that experiencing nature doesn’t have to involve a back to nature camping trip or walk through a rainforest. It can be as simple as planting some flowers and exploring the backyard of the family home.
This is a great book for educators and home-schooling parents looking for gardening activities for lesson plans and is a wonderful gift idea for parents, grandparents and children.
