Highlands Nature Sancturary

I recently visited Highlands Nature Sanctuary and Appalachian Forest Museum near Bainbridge, Ohio with my daughter and our cousins.  The Garmin GPS flawlessly guided us there, even though the road the sanctuary is located on becomes little more than a path before arriving at your destination.  Our cousins are city girls, but enjoy hiking in the great outdoors, so the adventure of exploring this site that was formerly operated as 7 Caves for over 80 years, was a treat for all of us.

The caves are no longer open to the public as the management of the site works to bring them back to their original, pre-visitor state. The hiking trails through the Rocky Fork Gorge offer breathtaking views of cliff overhangs, streams, huge Beech trees, wildflowers and rock formations.  This land is now a part of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, a charitable non-profit, stewarding over 3,000 acres of native Eastern Forest throughout southern Ohio. 

We especially enjoyed the Valley of the Ancients Trail, hiking
single file among the coolness of the huge rocks that line much of the path with my youngest cousin, age seven, singing (rather loudly) Just a Spoonful of Sugar which reverberated throughout the gorge. Something the abundant wildlife in the area probably hadn’t ever experienced before! It was truly a delightful, peaceful time shared with my family of which we will always have fond memories.

Experiencing the outdoors in this way can be a transforming experience.  When you can walk among dense nature, you begin to notice and appreciate even the tiniest creatures and plants.  Your stress and worries slip away and you experience inner peace. Hopefully, you can find a special place to visit this week and with each step along the path, you can let go of your worries and truly know that All Is Well.

Build Fairy Houses

A great activity to inspire kids to get outside and use their imagination is fairy house building.

Build them from all natural materials such as pinecones, sticks, leaves, flower petals, stones, seashells, feathers, acorns and gourds.  Construct fairy houses in backyards, in flowerbeds, in wooded areas or even on a balcony.  Many public parks and gardens allow fairy house building and create special events around the activity. Ask your local parks about it.  Some great books to get you inspired are those written by author/illustrator Tracy Kane including Kristin’s Fairy House and Fairy Houses Everywhere.

We had Tracy Kane come to our community a couple of years ago for a weekend of fairy house building workshops at Clary Gardens, a local public garden and at the Pomerene Center for the Arts.  It was great fun and inspired Clary Gardens to continue holding similar events over the years.  A fairy house village was created throughout their wooded sections that is enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Here’s how to get started in your own backyard

1. Find a suitable spot.  The kids in your life will lead you to the perfect place.
2. Talk about what the fairies might like in their house. Let the child’s imagination run with this.
3. Gather some items from the yard that might work. Use only natural materials (no plastic or metal – keep this a non-littering activity.)
4. Have fun building the fairy house. Children may want to do this all themselves, and that’s OK. Just watch and enjoy the process. Trial and error is what makes the process fun.
5. Have the child talk about the various parts of the structure and what they are used for.   For example, a large stone could be the couch, a big leaf could be a slide, and an acorn top could be a bowl.
6. Add accessories such as small berries in the bowls, flower decorations, or a bit of moss or feathers on the beds.
7. This can become an addicting hobby. You and your child will now always be on the lookout for the perfect spot for a fairy house and will spy the ideal materials when taking walks. 
8. This is a perfect activity for boys and girls. If the boys don’t like the idea of fairies, they can build their houses for sprites or the boy fairies.  Surprisingly, when we had our big fairy house building workshop at Clary Gardens, there were just as many boys with their dads there as there were girls.  Pretty neat!  Have fun and enjoy spending time outdoors.