“Everybody needs a rock. I’m sorry for kids who don’t have a rock for a friend. I’m sorry for kids who only have TRICYCLES, BICYCLES, HORSES, ELEPHANTS, GOLDFISH, THREE-ROOM PLAYHOUSES, FIRE ENGINES, WIND UP DRAGONS, AND THINGS LIKE THAT—if they don’t have a rock for a friend.” —B. Baylor (1974)
Collecting is a very common activity amongst humans. But why? Some say it is instinct; others, play, passion, a challenge, a thrill, or even an addiction or obsession. In the 2013 study, “Everyone Needs a Rock: Collecting Items from Nature in Childhood,” Dr. Kristi Lekies and her colleagues began to look at the nature collection habits of youth. Of the undergraduates interviewed, over 80% admitted to collecting items from nature as children, and collectors were more likely to score a higher connection to nature as adults than non-collectors.
Dr. Lekies’s research focuses on experiences of place, with a special emphasis on children and youth from early childhood through young adulthood. She examines early life experiences in natural settings, geographical communities, and community-based educational and recreational programs. In this presentation, she will share the results of her studies on the importance of nature collections during people’s formative years.
About the Presenter: Kristi Lekies is Associate Professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. Her research explores human experiences of the natural world in the early part of the life span and the role of outdoor and community environments in positive youth and young adult development. She is also a program evaluation specialist and has evaluated programs related to foster care, early childhood education, 4-H, and climate change education over the past 25 years.
She is a transdisciplinary social scientist with a background in social work, rural sociology, and human development who earned her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her master’s degree in home economics from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and a Ph.D. in human development and family studies from Iowa State University. She was also a Fulbright Scholar to the University of Potsdam in Germany in the 1990s.
Dr. Lekies’ current projects include a study of nature photography for youth in residential care, a study of the long-term impacts of outdoor adventure recreation in young adulthood, and an edited book called The Transformative Power of Parks. She teaches courses in Natural Resources Program Planning and Citizenship Across the Rural-Urban Divide.