Our April 1st Tree Talk titled “Exploring the Woods with Wonder: Multi-Generational Ways to Share the Outdoors” was an invitation for family meditate outdoors.

The slides presented by Valerie Hart included many beautiful images that inspired my childhood memories of time spent outside in a simpler world before Artificial Intelligence and the launch of missions around the moon.

Ms. Hart’s presentation was accessible to people who are not familiar with scientific terminology but do enjoy time in the woods.  She invited her audience to look at natural objects and think about times when they may have seen a stone or pinecone and wondered where it came from or imagined how it could have been used.  She did not recommend any further research or knowledge. 

Hart’s directions made me think of Einstein’s idea that imagination is better than knowledge.  I wonder if our imagination may be our best human defense against artificial intelligence.  Indeed, there are theories about the universe that we cannot prove scientifically, but we are able to conceive of them imaginatively.  

Sometimes AI comes up with ideas that seem to be imaginative, but other AI statements are clearly false.  The challenge for humans is to know when AI is biased or just wrong.

Now that we hear as much about “fake news” as we do about “breaking news,” we are invited to question just about everything we see or hear, but Ms. Hart’s presentation was intended to help her audience use the five senses to take a reality check.  She never said anything about fake news or artificial intelligence, but my reflections on the deeper meaning of her suggestions made me realize that what she was suggesting could be useful to children and adults who want a natural reality check.

Schoolchildren spend much less time outside now, and they use cell phones and computers many hours a day. Local school counselors recognized that children need “Screentime Awareness” family activities more than ever before.

This spring Kump Center “Screentime Awareness” efforts to take families into the our arboretum and wetland were thwarted by cold and rainy weather in March, but we will host other opportunities for families to explore our natural settings.

Kump Education Center will continue to be a place for learning about WV history, tree cultivation, and wetland protection. 

If children can imagine that they are the environmental stewards of this beautiful earth, they will be more likely to protect clean air and water. We hope the Kump House will stand as a reminder that free public education provides equal learning opportunities for all West Virginia citizens.  

In this age of Artificial Intelligence we were happy to host Wonder & Grow on the day that Artemis II was launched to travel beyond the moon and back.