The Love of Nature: Why We’re Thankful for the Great Outdoors

In this season finale of Wildly Curious (formerly For the Love of Nature), co-host Laura Fawks Lapole reflects on why nature is such an integral part of her life, from the calming power of the outdoors to the sense of wonder it instills. Joined by the voices of kids from around the country, this episode explores the many reasons why people, young and old, love nature. Whether it’s the beauty of the trees, the joy of watching animals, or the simple pleasure of a quiet walk, listeners will be reminded of what makes the natural world so special.

Perfect for anyone who loves nature or is looking for some heartwarming inspiration, this episode is a celebration of the outdoors.

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to For the Love of Nature, a podcast where we tell you everything you need to know about nature and probably more than you wanted to know. I'm Laura, and today there's no Katie, but today is our season six finale, and we wanted to end it on a special note. During the holiday season and the end of the year, many of us are reflecting on what we're thankful for.
We like to surround ourselves with loved ones, eat foods we love to eat, do the things we love to do, and basically just try and get all those warm fuzzy feelings that we can. So with that in mind, we wanted to mention why we love nature and are thankful for it. After all, that's why we have this podcast, and hopefully why you're listening right now.
Honestly, I'm sure I could spend a solid 30 minutes talking about why I, Laura, specifically love nature. But most of you probably don't want to hear me talk that long about myself. So let me just list a few things quickly.
When I need perspective in my life, when I'm stressed, when I'm feeling overwhelmed or facing a crisis, I go to nature to center myself. It reminds me that no matter how big my problems may seem, they are small in the grand scheme of the world, and that gives me the courage to work through them. That was a huge point during the pandemic, when I felt like the world was falling apart.
I just had to go outside, look around, and see that the world was going to be okay, because we were really just a small part of it, and everything else was going to just keep on moving. Every day, I also see something, or hear something, or learn something about or in nature that totally blows my mind. Maybe it's a new fact, or maybe it's just the way the sun is shining through golden leaves in the late afternoon.
There's honestly no better word for that than awe when I look out there and I see that kind of thing. I also grew up in nature with my family, and nearly every Sunday, we were either hiking or at least driving through the woods. My parents, my brothers, sometimes my aunts, uncles, and cousins would gather together to go for a walk or go camping or just head out on another adventure together.
We learned, we laughed, and we grew closer to one another through all these wonderful moments. And so nature means family to me and growing closer to them. I hope that these moments still continue, and more than anything, I hope that I can share those moments with my daughter as she grows and grows closer to the rest of our family as well.
Finally, it might sound a little melodramatic, but nature truly nourishes my soul. When I'm out in the woods, it just feels right. I need it as much as I need air to breathe.
I need the beauty, the calm, the stimulation, and even the spiritual element that it brings me. Although I'm a Christian, as we've mentioned on this podcast before, I have my doubts, probably as a lot of other Christians out there do, or anybody in any religion. But when I'm out in nature, I feel more sure and closer to God because my mind is quieter, my heart is just fuller, and I see incredible things everywhere I look, and it reassures me and again centers me.
Okay, enough from me. This is what Kim said as the reason she loves nature. It's the ever-changing great escape.
No day is the same. The seasons change, the weather changes. You may walk the same route or hike the same hike a hundred times and each time find something new to appreciate.
It's full of life. It's home to staggering mountain views and quiet babbling brooks. It's equal parts thrilling and peaceful and a connection to something or some things beyond myself.
That's probably cheesy, but it's how I feel about it. I once told a friend that I don't believe in God, but being in nature for me is what I think some people feel going to church or praying. Deep thoughts from a baker.
Currently, Katie is on her own retreat out in nature, trying to center herself so that she can get some work done so we are not going to hear her thoughts from her this time, but I'm sure she will answer her thoughts in future. Meanwhile, why don't you listen to some of our youngest nature nerds' opinion and hopefully you'll hear something that hits home for you as well. We asked for audio clips or emails submitted to us that we could read that answered the question, why do you love nature?
All the responses are from kids in middle school or all the way down to age three. In some instances, we'll say first names and ages, and in others, they wish to remain anonymous and we'll respect those wishes. But hopefully you will appreciate the fantastic responses that we've got and end listening to this podcast, loving nature even just a little bit as much as some of these kids do.
Let's start off from a fan that you've heard from before, AC. So this is from AC, age 10. Hi Laura, I wanted to say why I love nature.
I love nature for many reasons, but one of them is how stunning and beautiful plants and animals are. Another reason why I love nature is that it always surprises me. I mean, there is a real lizard that can breathe underwater for 18 minutes.
And, not the last, but the last I will share, that nature is quite funny sometimes. Like when small cuttlefish don't want to fight, they make themselves look like females to meet with the real female and get out unharmed. I love you guys.
Keep up the good work. AC.
My name is Emily, and I am six years old. And what I love about nature is that it's beautiful and it makes me happy, and especially when the birds chirping. My name is Esma, and I'm five years old.
Why do you love nature?
Because I like new things. I like to see new things.
What's your name? How old are you? And why do you love nature?
Uh, trees, flowers, and trees, and snowmen, and Grinch.
This is Anonymous from Arkansas.
Love about nature is very odd. Ants can be cruel to some people, and it is a python and a king cobra. Because pythons can constrict something until it can't breathe, and constrict means to squeeze something until it can't breathe.
And also because it's a snake, and because it's super long. It's because nature is cool to me, because it helps us breathe, and that's it.
Here's another anonymous from Arkansas.
What I love about nature is that, well, there are lots of animals, and the one I chose to be my favorite was the elephant. Elephants are amazing. They're the second biggest animal on earth, and they can kill a rhinoceros.
And nature itself is amazing because somehow, some way, it created us. Well, it's because of God.
This one is from Jojo, age 7.
The reason I love nature is because it's pretty, and it's so home to cute little animals like frogs and all that.
This one is from Quinn, age 13.
The reason I love nature is because it's the home to so many cute creatures.
Hi, my name is Ellie, and I'm 8 years old, and I like nature because it's calming, and I love all the animals and insects that fly, and it's just so calming to me.
This one is from Anonymous.
I'm 6 years old, and I love nature because I love leaves, because I get to make leaf spires, and I love trees, because I get to climb them.
This one is from Owen, age 3.
You like what?
Same, Owen, same.
My name is Pablo, and I'm 9 years old, and I like nature walks because they're calm and relaxing, and I get to get like 6 foot away from deer, because I get really close to them, I don't know, and I like that.
Hi, my name is Isabel, and I'm 13 years old. I like nature because it helps me stay active. I enjoy hiking near the creeks there to see all the local wildlife, and it's really calming.
This one is from 9 year old nature girl.
I love nature because it's very pretty and cute sometimes.
This one's from 8 year old nature gal.
I love nature because it's beautiful and there's so much of it.
Here's 4 year old Cooper on why he loves nature.
Hello, my name is Jack, and why I love nature is one of the possibilities of life. We get our own, we get our own struts by natural resources. Like wood, like wood, like wood.
It's usually a possibility of our lives. We need to hunt for food, for making us not hungry, and we need to drink good amounts of water, and have shelter, and light, and all kinds of stuff that helps us survive for Earth. My first name is Johnny, and one of the reasons why I love nature is because sometimes nature can be funny, and sometimes weird, too.
Hi, my name is Lucas. I love nature because the bees give us honey, and I love flowers. Hi, I'm Tessandra, I'm five years old, and I love nature, and I also love birds chirping.
That wonderful sound of the bees, it's so peaceful.
Hello, my name is Rachel, and I am eight years old. I really love nature because, well, I like to look at all the animals. It's beautiful how they just like flutter or crawl.
There's so many different ways that they move. That seems so cool to me. That's why I love nature, okay?
Well, there you have it, folks. That wraps up our episode on why we all love nature. We wanted to thank everyone who submitted audio clips from us today.
To all of our young listeners, thank you so much for sharing your passions. We love you. Never stop being passionate about nature.
Share your love with others. We appreciate it. And so does everyone who's listening today.
And as you heard, people love nature for a variety of reasons. Maybe it's because you like the exercise. Maybe it's because you find it beautiful, or calming, or full of cute critters, or heck, maybe it's just because you love big trees.
But everybody has their own special reasons, and we'd love to hear what yours are. Reach out to us at FTLON Podcast on Twitter or on Facebook, and let us know why you love nature, if it's a reason that you've heard here today or a completely new one. We're actually going to be on our season break, but be sure to keep listening to Kim's mini-sodes.
There'll be four of those, while Katie and I prepare for season seven. Can't believe that's already happening, but that will release in the new year. So be sure to keep listening.
We did promise you that this would never stop. So you will continue to get content even while we're on our season break. But we hope that listening to this episode piqued your curiosity, and hopefully now you care just a little bit more about nature than when you started, and you might want to explore some of those reasons that everybody else loves it, too.
Thanks so much for listening to us, everyone. Have a wonderful holiday season, and we will talk to you in the new year. Bye.