Fifth grader creates nature club to get families outside

Children aren’t known for their sense of commitment. Their interests are often fleeting, and they can sometimes lack focus, which is what sets apart Tasman Henry’s accomplishment from those of other fifth-graders.

The Fruitville Elementary School student started the Sarasota Family Nature Club to get kids and their families out into nature. So far, there have been two meetings, with a third scheduled for Jan. 21 — and Tasman is the brains behind it all.

“I’ve always loved nature from when I was a little kid, and I’ve always wanted to get other kids out in nature,” she said. “So I decided that a club would be the best idea.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a really long time—” since she was in the second grade — “but my mom waited until I was really serious about it,” Tasman said.

Her mom, Julie Henry, said once Tasman expressed interest, she started handing down some old curriculum books she had accumulated, and even had Tasman come help her teach a class so she could see what it was like to lead a group of people.

“It was so obviously her idea and it never went away over three years,” Julie Henry said, “and then we just decided this summer, ‘OK, we’re just going to pick a date, and we’re just going to start it.’ ”

For Tasman, that meant doing research on how to start a club. She had a video call with someone from the Children and Nature Network to learn more about how to help connect people to nature. She got some more books about plants and animals. She and her mom went to the Celery Fields, where the first meeting would be held, to set boundaries and see what she could incorporate into the meeting.

The meetings start with a question on a whiteboard.

“Last meeting it was ‘What are you thankful for in nature?’” Tasman said.

From there, it’s a self-guided family activity outside, such as a scavenger hunt. Attendees reconvene for a craft or a game and a little more conversation.

Tasman’s goal with the club is to make people stop and pay attention to what’s around them.

“This is a great way to not just be outside in nature,” she said. “This is for the family to be together and just go exploring.”

Jennifer Osterhoudt attended the club’s first meeting with her husband and two kids, Tasman’s friend Gillian, 8, and Ethan, 11.

“We all had a great time,” she said. “[Tasman] had it very well-organized … It’s a nice time to connect with your kids and to connect with nature.”

That’s what Tasman said is her favorite part: the way people forget for a while to check their phones, or don’t notice the time passing.

“Well, in the first meeting at the Celery Fields, when I came up to check on all the families that came, they had been outside a long time,” she said. “And they were, like, accepting the beauty of nature. They were noticing the butterflies at the Celery Fields and they were just like totally in tune to nature.”

The next meeting will be at 2 p.m. Jan. 21, at Ken Thompson Park. There’s no charge, no commitment and families can come whenever they are able, for however long they can — although the Henrys stress that it’s not a place to drop kids off. The location of the meeting and the date will change each month.

For information on future club meetings, like the club on Facebook.