Gratitude for Nature: Family Activities to Celebrate and Give Back This Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving and the holiday season is a time for family gathering, celebration, and expressing gratitude. When it comes to nature, it is an opportunity to reflect on what nature’s role has been in our lives as well as how to deepen that connection with nature moving forward. Doing so also inspires us to practice our environmental stewardship to care for the Earth.
This week, we discuss ways to express gratitude for nature through reflecting on nature’s gifts, practicing gratitude as a family, and giving back to the Earth.
Reflecting on Nature’s Gifts
Nature enriches our lives in countless ways. It includes things like the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the beautiful spaces that we live and recreate in. It includes physical spaces for recreation, exploration, and relaxation. It also includes spaces for stress relief, mental clarity, attention restoration, community, and connection. For our family, it has given us opportunities to slow down, live more mindfully, and develop deeper connections in our community.
This season, reflect on how nature has supported your family. Consider asking your kids and each other:
- What do you like about being outside?
- What is your favorite outdoor memory from this year?
- How do you feel when you go outside?
Taking a moment to appreciate nature deepens our connection and inspires us to care for the Earth.
Ways to Practice Gratitude For Nature
Nature Gratitude Walk
Visit your favorite trail or walking path or explore a new one. As you and your family are walking, identify things to be thankful for. Share them with the people around you. Has there been a new opportunity for growth or learning for yourself as a parent or caregiver? Have you watched your kids transition into a new school? Has this been a particularly challenging year but there are those that have supported your family through it? Sometimes, despite individually expressing gratitude for things and people, we sometimes don’t share it with others. Let’s use this season to deepen our connection with one another and share what we are grateful for.
Nature Journaling
Nature journaling focuses on recording observations and feelings during your time spent in nature. It is a fun activity for adults and children. Grab your favorite notebook, markers, crayons, and color pencils. Find a quiet place outdoors and draw or write about what is around you and how you are feeling. Encourage your kids to identify patterns on rocks or leaves that they can draw or draw what they think of when they think of families outside. Check out how to get started with nature journaling for tips and inspiration.
Mindful Moments
With busy schedules and shorter daylight hours, sometimes you might only have a short window to connect with nature. Use your senses to notice nature’s details. What are some things you can point out to yourself or to your kids?
Can you observe the different leaf colors on the trees? Can you compare the shapes of the leaves with one another, looking at the details in the shading and veining?
Can you listen to the sounds of birds chirping nearby?
Can you smell which flowers are in bloom? Did it just rain and can you smell rain in the air?
Can you feel the breeze? Does it feel cooler or warmer than the day before?
Observing what is in the moment allows us to practice mindfulness and teaches our kids to do the same too.
Practice Often
Just like practicing gratitude about other aspects of our life, practicing gratitude for what nature provides for us takes ongoing practice. When modern society includes easy distractions, feelings of not enough, needing to get the next best thing, sometimes we disconnect from what we already have. Practicing gratitude is a skill that can be cultivated.
Ways to Give Back
Now that you’ve reflected on what nature provides and used some time to practice gratitude as a family. Let’s think of ways that we can give back to nature as family. There can even be some nature-inspired holiday traditions to start.
Reduce Waste
Practice eco-friendly habits at home and instill those values in your children. Buy only what you need. Say no to extra packaging. Bring reusable bags to the grocery store. Avoid single use plastic items like straws, utensils, plastic bags, among others. Pack your lunch and bring your utensils. Recycle responsibly. Plan meals to avoid food waste and if there is, add it to your compost pile. There are so many ways to cut back on what ends up going into the garbage but like all habits, it is one to practice.
Support Wildlife
Help promote biodiversity in the spaces that you are in. Are you able to add some flowers to your garden? Maybe it’s time to think about replacing the front lawn with a pollinator friendly habitat? Maybe you can add a bird feeder to your balcony.
Plant Something
Find a place in your home or yard where you can grow something. It can be a backyard, patio, or windowsill. Think about what you would like to grow. You don’t need a large space to grow plants. Consider starting a small vegetable or herb garden. Plant bulbs that will bloom in the spring. If you have the space, plant a tree or many trees and start an orchard.
Advocate for Nature
Make conscious choices to advocate for nature in any way. Volunteer for your local nature center or community garden. Donate to your local community parks or conservation organization. Sign petitions for policies that support natural spaces. Talk about how you are caring about the earth with others. The more we talk about it, the more it will be at the forefront of people’s minds.
Take a moment this week to choose one way that your family will express gratitude for nature—whether through reflection, mindfulness, or giving back—and share your plans with us in the comments!
Taking some time to express gratitude towards nature as a family allows us to celebrate what nature provides for us. By doing this routinely with our children, we foster a love for the Earth and nurture the next generation of environmental stewards.
