ENTHUSIASTIC children created diverse cubbies in one of the region’s most picturesque precincts on Tuesday as part of the Nature Play SA 2017 Festival.
Hosted by Natural Resources South East, the event, in its second year, was held at the Valley Lake Conservation Park to encourage children to engage and connect with the outdoors.
In addition to creating tree cubbies, attendees were entertained with story telling, a nature hunt, face painting, nature craft and yoga.
“Our role at Natural Resources South East is to protect and conserve the environment, so it if fantastic for the next generation to experience and fall in love with nature,” Natural Resources South East environmental coordinator Vanessa Freebairn said.
She said the day helped to inspire children as they were able to familiarise themselves with plants and animals.
“The face painting involved images of bird species and animals including those which are endangered,” she said.
Over 400 community members embraced the day and immersed themselves in nature.
Attendee Jensen said it was a fun day creating the tree cubby with his friends, which took them around two hours to perfect.
“It is a fun thing for us all to do in the holidays,” he said.
Ms Freebairn said the day went very smoothly and it was promising to see cooperation between the children when building the cubbies.
“Their cubby-making skills have improved from last year and around 64 unique cubbies were made on the day,” she said.
Ms Freebairn said it was important for children to regularly spend time in nature and visit local outdoor areas often.
The aim of Nature Play SA’s 2017 Festival is to highlight the importance of playing in nature and provide opportunities for families to access nature events across South Australia.
Similar events were also held at Mount Burr’s Kay Native Forest Reserve and Keith this week.
