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Just to get a kid's perspective of Little St. Simons Island, I invited my 11 year-old son, Declan, on my recent trip to the island. My visit happened to be scheduled for the first day of his Spring Break, and he had never visited the island. I was thrilled to be going back over to see what's new there since my last visit years ago, and I thought it would be nice to share how a day trip to LSSI is a great adventure for all ages.
Declan was enthralled. He thought the boat ride over was fun and pointed out the tree swing upon arrival at the dock. During our informational session in The Lodge, he pulled out the nature guides and discovered the cards that provided IDs of the various species of wildlife on the island. Frogs, lizards, snakes and butterflies were of interest to him. Especially the snakes. "Mom, look! Snakes! Are we going to see snakes?!" He snapped pics of the cards, so he'd have handy access to ID what he found. And so, the "hunt" began.
As we toured the buildings, Declan was always on the lookout to see what might be hiding in the vegetation nearby. No snakes, but an armadillo was a delightful find. We watched him scuffle around and dig, not bothered at all by the humans interrupting his morning forage. In the cottages, the stuffed trophies and some of the art caught Declan's eye. When we visited the barn, where there is a marvelous display of paintings by Philip Juras, Declan had fun snapping photos of many of the beautiful marshscapes. And then, he found it...the snake. There is a small snake in a tank residing in the barn, and that was, oddly enough, as snakes are a pretty common sight on the island, the only snake we encountered on our trek; however, it made him happy.
Declan thoroughly enjoyed listening to Scott Coleman talk about conservation projects on the island, and also liked speaking with manager, Scott Greene. But just before lunch, he fell in love...he met naturalist supervisor Stacia Hendricks. If you don't know Stacia, she just "clicks" with kids. She's smart, friendly, and engaging (as are all staff members on LSSI!) and has a way of drawing you in to the excitement of the sheer wonder of this natural treasure we are so lucky to have in our backyard. She led us through the garden, explaining planting processes and what delicious results they have. Then, knowing exactly what an 11 year-old boy would love the most, she introduced us to the worms.
LSSI has a healthy vermicomposting operation to recycle kitchen scraps, yard debris, and other compost-friendly waste into dark, nutrient-rich soil for planting. Worms do all the work. She and Declan sifted through the dirt in the bins to find worms and she even gave him a cup of worms in soil to take home. He carried them around for the rest of the day, from lunch to our truck rides out to birding stations and the beach, he was always making sure his new "pets" were safe.
After lunch, where the watermelon, fresh-baked cookies and hand-squeezed lemonade were a big hit, Stacia joined us again to guide us around the island. She took us out to the most likely spot for us to see an alligator, where Declan did get that privilege, but wasn't fast enough to get pictures too. At his request, she made sure to show us where to find nesting eagles, and there too, we were lucky enough to view the majestic bird through a scope. More birding followed, and then a trip to the beach, where the camera was set aside for shell collecting. (We came home with wonderful treasures!)
Our good-byes upon our return to meet the boat to take us back to SSI were reluctant. Declan loved spending the day exploring and was never bored, despite not having a single electronic device, unless you count the digital camera, in his possession. He really liked our LSSI hosts and left the LSSI showing off his worms and all the great shells he collected. He was so inspired by the trip, he actually changed his school science fair project to vermicomposting. (Yes, the worms are STILL alive!) It's a wonderful thing to be hardly off the island and hear from an X-Box loving, technology-obsessed pre-teen, "Mom, when can we come back?!"
The accompanying photos are from Declan's camera (except the photo of Declan, Stacia & the worms) and are unedited. Enjoy seeing things from his POV.
