I read an article in the Sunday paper a while ago that suggested children need a connection with nature. More specifically, that they need to have a special piece of the natural world that they consider theirs, that grounds them to nature. Its a similar concept to that of turangawaewae, or standing place, that ancestral land that is your spiritual and physical home. Seeing P at my parents farm made me appreciate how important this concept is. She loves it there, and the range of hands on natural experiences that she has is amazing. She feeds out the cattle in the morning, feeds the chickens and dogs and puts them to bed, and at the moment is helping my Mum feed a lamb. Hopefully her memories of the farm are that connection with nature that she can carry around with her later in life.