CS Lewis and Nature

Ah yes, my sadly neglected Groundling blog, untended for seven weeks. My shame knows no bounds.

Still, I read today that there is a C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve in Great Britain, a fact which has previously escaped my attention. The website contains limited directions and background but little else other than to say that the wood and pond may have been a source of inspiration for the Narnia Series, the children's books with a magical land accessed through a wardrobe. It is adjacent to the lovely home called The Kilns and where "Jack" Lewis and his brother Warnie spent time as boys. http://www.bbowt.org.uk/reserves/cs-lewis-nature-reserve . The rather fuzzy photo of reserve legend shows a blue heron and a kingfisher and perhaps a coot or moorhen?

This certainly makes sense to me. There was a creek (the crick) behind our home where I ventured as a kid, along with my brother Eric. We played hockey there with absolutely no parental supervision, as was the case with the forays into the wooded area at the end of our street and other spots around town. In the late 50's, early 60's, children just disappeared after school until suppertime, and the less said the better.

It was much the same with our son Isaac, I am reluctant to admit in print. When he was growing up in Sudbury we lived atop "Pill Hill" a nicer neighbourhood once known to the choice of physicians and other professionals. Since Sudbury is built on rock many streets just come to an end and pockets of birch and poplar, along with hardy conifers, fight for survival. It was perfect for the tree-fort crowd, so Ike and his buddies spent countless hours messing around in the bush.

Danger! Danger! That is the current outlook about kids on their own. What terrible things lurk in the woods? Yes, our lad came back with scrapes and a few stings, but today he and his partner Rebekah enjoy the natural world, as do our two daughters. As I have written before, so many nature writers and eco-theologians attribute their love of the Earth and what we religious types call Creation to their childhood ramblings. It makes perfect sense to me that Lewis found inspiration for his books about an imaginary land of trees and rivers and lakes.

Any comments about developing an affinity for the natural world as children? Do you still venture out there?