The Lost Islands Map

The Lost Islands Map, a photo by Nature Play Corps on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Illustrating the pathway and play habitat locations for Week Two of the Nature Play Corps. The real question is: where is the treasure?

Turtle Island Extravaganza

It’s dark. And damp. The pine needles are poking my forehead, getting caught in my hair. The hemp string is not staying attached to my arms, making it more comfortable to sit in child’s pose than any other position. Nobody seems to have noticed the massive box in the corner, distracted by the glitter and glue and mom’s instructions for how to apply both. Ah, it’s my time. I poke my head out, here come the arms… voila, I am a box turtle. Mom laughs. And keeps laughing.

Getting to know Mr. Box Turtle

The first group of children entered Turtle Island timidly and were greeted by three turtles of differing species. The girls ranged in age from about 4 to 7 and, after a brief moment of hesitation, were excited to begin their transformation from children into turtles. They each tried on a shell for size and proceeded to slather paint, glue, and glitter over the cardboard pieces in various designs. As they began to finish their shells, the girls were led into the woods by Mr. Box Turtle toward the Enchanted Forest.

A turtle parade through the woods

Britani Lolley, Benji Palmer, and Stephanie Rustem

Sky Island

Coming in for a landing to report success for mission "First Flight" on Sky Island.

We taught many a baby bird to fly in our suspended trawl net fastened 5 feet high with rope and webbing to surrounding trees. After the baby birds learned to fly in the sky net they were then free to explore the island via branches (logs on the forest floor setup to act as balance beams) and help build a person-sized nest. Children of all ages (2-10) quickly took on the role of becoming birds and allowed the net to challenge them at their own personal level. Some were content sitting in a low area whereas others flew to the highest points and slid down for landings, both bumpy and smooth.

Baby birds trying out different "landing" techniques

It was important to assess the risk of the net, how it was suspended, and minimizing the possibilities for toppling over the edge. Phil Waters of the Eden Project is experienced with rigging up nets for similar play purposes, and was an inspiration as well as a key risk assessor in the construction of the net. After several adults tested the net (and didn't want to leave), we knew the children would have a beneficial, safe, and fun experience.

The net crew: Courtney, Amelea, Phil, and Sarah

The net afforded multiple levels of challenge in allowing the children to adapt and learn about their own mental and physical limits as well as interact with other children in an inclusive and civil manner.

  Kids of all ages learning to fly

The adults matched the children's collective enthusiasm for the net, each parent/chaperone expressed this by exclaiming that they would set one up in their backyard for the kids!

Note: No actual birds were harmed in the making of this play habitat :)

Courtney, Amelea, and Sarah

Hideaway Cove

Turtles exploring Hideaway Cove

Upon first arrival to Hideaway Cove, this particular group of girls were seemingly uninterested in the beach environment we had created for their play habitat. Lining up side by side, they stared at us, hoping for some sort of prompting regarding their actions within this strange place. Giving in, we decided to introduce them to the numerous bird nests around the island, which afforded them the opportunity to notice the brightly colored, large eggs found within each nest. This was clearly something that excited the girls, and one by one they decided to collect all the eggs found in and around the Cove. When they had collected them all, and piled them in the central area, one of the girls noted that the momma birds would not be happy to see their eggs missing! Hearing this, the girls decided that putting the baby bird eggs back in their nests would make momma bird happy, as she could then have baby birds to raise and care for when they hatched.

Collections of treasure are brought to the center of Hideaway Cove

This was a poignant moment for our play exercise, because it showed us that children already have the concepts of conservation and protection of wildlife in their imaginations. This is important because it shows us that we created an effective environment that fostered imagination as well as interaction and conservation within the setting of the coastal environment, which closely matches the goals set forth by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Terry Welles, Kara Oikarinen, Katie Johnson

Sound Island

*Clink* *Clank* *Ring* *Tap* *Crunch* *Howl* *Growl*

Some of our "animals" that inhabited the island :)

Sounds of the forest that resonated though our play habitat, Sound Island, this week. We set our stage with a multitude of "instruments" - a harp: fishing line strung up in between two trees; Castanets: shells clapped together; Wind chimes: silverware found along the beach strung up from a tree; Drums: old containers; Maracas: Tupperware containers filled with sand, sea glass, and sticks; Drumsticks: sticks and silver ware; Guiro: carved notches into a tree branch; Ocean collage chimes: part of a crab buoy, shells, and sea glass strung up on a piece of drift wood. So many things to create our animal orchestra!!

Ocean Collage Chimes :)

But an animal orchestra needs an animal choir to accompany it! We encouraged the kids to use their voices and anythings else they could find in the woods in addition to the "instruments". They howled and growled and on occasion, we heard howls back! The kids were in awe!! To help the kids envelop their new animal persona, we painted out faces like animals!

The kids loved it! They even were inspired to become artists themselves and painted our faces too!

Then some treasure hunters discovered our island! They were searching for treasure that a note they found on the Hidden Cove said would be with the wolves (indicating our island). We had no gold, be we did have the treasure of music that we were more than happy to share with them!

Kaitlyn and Debi after face painting :)

-Kaitlyn, Debi, Carly

The Trawl Net Adventure

The team preparing the net

Sarah, Amelea, and I (Courtney),or formerly known as the "First Flight" or "Sky Island" people, went on an adventure to Wanchese Thursday morning. More specifically to the Fishing Industrial Park. This was not just a random adventure out, but yet we were looking for a trawl net with the grand idea in mind that we could suspend it from branches and create a "springboard" for our kids on Friday.

It took a few phone calls on Amelea's part to find Faron Daniels who runs the Wanchese Trawl and Fishing Supply store. She spoke with him on the phone and he invited her to drop by because her slow accent over the phone was too much of a distraction. She told him we would visit with the promise that she wouldn't speak so slowly when we got there. We ventured out and had an experience that will be kept in our memories for quite some time.

Net success!

Our first introduction to Faron was through a very intense, verbal argument he was having with a customer that had not paid his bill in over a year. Faron firmly told him that if he wasn't making enough money then he shouldn't be fishing. The man angrily left as Faron turned to the three of us, where we were awkwardly posed in old fashioned chairs, and asked, "What do these boys want? Which one of you is Ohio (Amelea)?" He was friendly, in a very southern manner. If you're not from the South then this style of joking is usually very bold, can sometimes be taken as rude, from an already burly, inherently intimidating man. He guided us to the warehouse where all of the rope and nets are kept. A skinny dog tied to a rope wagged her tail and growled at us. Very mixed signals. He kept asking what size net we wanted, but we still weren't even sure he was just going to give some to us or if he expected a discounted price. Even when I asked him, he didn't give us a direct answer. In the end, he donated to us 20 feet of brand new net, and offered his son up for marriage. We kindly declined and went on our way but not until after he asked us to return for a visit. We definitely are and with pictures to show him.

A baby bird learning to fly on the trawl net

The actual net is suspended a few feet off of the ground. Although we have fit 7 adults on it at one time the plan is not to have more than 3-4 kids "learning to fly" on it at a time while we spot them from the edges.

Tuesday, June 14th

Today the ITs attacking us with full force! They are a lot bigger then yesterday and much more cunning, our Guard-its can do very little against this group of ITs. We the innocent interns are left out in the open with no defense. Our challenge today given to us by Phil was to create a "den" (fort), that can hold all 15 of us and be able to protect us from attacking ITs. We immediately discussed possibilities to where the den could be placed. We decided on a location that had 3 fallen trees that created a triangle and had natural defenses such as Devil's Walkingstick. We cleared out the center of the triangle, set up booby traps to catch the its, made sure we had escape routes incase things started to go downhill. We also built a roof for our den out of tarps that protected us from flying ITs. The ITs sent a small attacking force made of two old ITs to try and destroy our humble abode. The first IT made it through our first line of defense but got boxed in a clever trap that included a beautiful skylight. The second IT evaded all our defenses but our escaped routes were used to our advantage. Needless to say our den was very successful.


In the afternoon we traveled to Pea Island National Refuge, our trip was great. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and there was a sense of joy in the air. Little did we know that the Air and Sea ITs were creeping on us! Brave our expert IT tracker noticed them creeping about and informed us about their dangers. Phil issued a challenge to create a talisman that would deter both the Air and Sea ITs at the same time. We attacked this challenge from many different angles, some went to the top of the dunes to search for drift wood. Some took tools and attacked the sand to create a trench to protect from the Sea ITs, this also doubled as a deterrent fro the Air ITs because we placed shells to make it look like a mouth.

Working together to create the talisman

Some of us went to the beach front and created a path for the ITs to follow out of the water out towards the sand dunes and then back into the water. Doing this would confuse the small brained ITs. We also created sand people that could be used as bait. The coolest thing we created that deterred the ITs the most was a series of tall pieces of drift wood stuck into the ground and then having a pattern drawn in the sand around them. It looks like a face from the air so the Air ITs will definitely not want to attack this area. The biggest challenge we had was putting into the sand a LONG LONG piece of drift wood that was taller then any one piece of wood that I have ever seen before. It took an act of congress to get that wood into the sand.

it stands alone

After this wonderful experience we all sat in a circle along the beach and reflected, spoke freely, and enjoyed each others company. Today was absolutely wonderful, we grew together as a team, worked through two challenges that we completed with flying colors, and most importantly no one got attacked by an IT.
-Assir Abushouk

Monday, June 13

Week two of the Nature Play Corps program kicked off bright and early Monday morning, June 13. The morning seminars kicked off with a very interesting and relevant seminar led by Nilda Cosco, focusing on affordances for children within the natural environment. She focused specifically on the ways in which the structure and events within an environment contribute to the overall perceptual experience of the children. She offered a psychological aspect of the natural experience, and explained how objects with both conventional and unconventional affordances can contribute different affordances to each individual. She also introduced a concept called ART (Attention Restoration Theory), which explains the characteristics of a successfully designed environment for child-interaction and growth. The characteristics include: being involved in an environment that is different from the everyday experience, allowing the child to remain engaged throughout the experience, holding the attention of the child effortlessly, and fitting in with what the child wants to or is inclined to do. Overall, it was a very engaging seminar, which allowed us to hone in on the various characteristics of successful environments.

Phil introducing us to Guard-IT's

Next up was a rousing introduction to Phil Waters, visiting Playworker from England! He works with the Eden project, which has successfully launched a whole segment of the English population into the mindset that playwork with children is indeed important for their well-being, growth, and development. He was obviously very excited to be in the United States, and even more excited to give us all his take on the playwork profession. One of Phil's main points of emphasis was the concept of invitation within the environment. He explained that, when involved with playwork, it is the role of the playworker to provide an invitation for children to have a meaningful experience within the environment. While some of us had cooked up elaborate schemes to involve children, nearly forcing certain experiences on the children, Phil explained that it can be something as simple as saying "I hear there are monsters out there!" and leaving it at that. What I took away most from his presentation was that children do not need much of a jump start when it comes to engaging themselves within a narrative or play environment.

After lunch, we traveled to the Gateway site, and uncovered the story of the 'its.' Apparently, there are 'its' everywhere, and must be avoided at all costs. One of the best ways to stave them off is through the creation of a 'guard-it,' which will use its special powers to hold the 'its' at bay. Made with modeling clay, loose parts, and elements of the natural settings around us, our 'guard-its' had several magical powers which fended off the nasty 'its.'

Here is a Guard-IT!

After the creation of our 'its,' we were tasked to group up, and create a community for our 'its' to live in. Two groups were formed, and quickly small cities appeared within the woods. Highways, homes, schools, fire stations, playgrounds, ponds, and other community pillars were constructed for our 'its,' and we very much enjoyed showing our community to the other group of developers.

Here is a home for one of the GUARD-ITS!

Monday evening contained our visit to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, where we explored their successful Wolfhowl program. In this program, the refuge has taken a nearly extinct species, the Red Wolf, and nursed them back into existence through an intensive recovery program. See below posts for a more complete description (and audio) of our visit, which was easily one of the coolest things that any of us has ever experienced!

Terry