What dandelions and bees can teach us about our responsibilities to the natural world

In springtime, at a children's forest nature program nestled in the western Humber River Valley of Toronto, educators and young learners gather with Anishinaabe storytellers to connect with Mother Earth. They listen to the songs of red-winged blackbirds and green frogs, and observe bees landing on dandelions, the first flowers to bloom in spring. These simple interactions become opportunities for learning reciprocity and responsibility toward the natural world.

Children are taught that dandelions provide essential food for emerging native bees, the first pollinators to visit the flowers. The dandelion is respected as a gift, not to be removed but to be cared for. When a child attempts to pick a dandelion, their peers gently discourage the action, demonstrating respect for the plant and the bees it supports.

Through daily interactions in the arboretum, children learn to value "loose parts"—sticks, acorns, snail shells—found in nature. These materials become tools for imaginative play, encouraging children to explore relationships and movements in the environment. As they collect these items, they ponder who might need them and whether they should return them to their natural homes.

By viewing nature as a web of interconnected relationships, children begin to understand the concept of reciprocity. They learn to see materials not as resources to be taken and discarded, but as gifts to be honored and returned. This mindset extends beyond the arboretum, influencing how families care for their outdoor spaces, such as refraining from mowing dandelions until they produce seed heads.

Such experiences foster a sense of gratitude and stewardship, encouraging children to appreciate the natural world and its inhabitants. In a world facing declining biodiversity, particularly among pollinators, these lessons become vital in nurturing a new generation of responsible stewards of the earth. Through Etuaptmumk, or Two-Eyed Seeing, children integrate Indigenous and Western perspectives to cultivate a holistic understanding of their role in sustaining the planet.