Nature Nugget #6: Nature Sculptures

by Ariella Rogge on April 28

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Nature Sculptures

One of the best outdoor activities to help you and your kids slow down and be in the moment is by building an Andy Goldsworthy style nature sculpture. Characterized by their ephemeral nature, Goldworthy creates his temporary installations to capture, photographically, the fleeting beauty of the natural world.

These sculptures are fun for kids because it allows them to see the landscape around them very differently, plus it includes a component of “search and discover” that allows their imaginations to run wild. The best part, however, of this activity is the collecting and arranging.

On Sunday, my son and I finished our terrific hike on the trails in Green Mountain Falls, CO with a little nature sculpting. We found a cool aspen tree with a little “cave” under it, and then created a sculptured “root” or “river” of different moss and lichen we found all along the ground on this north-slope trail.

Some pieces fit better in certain places than others, and–as we crafted it–we were surprised how we could suddenly find so many more bit of lichen where, minutes before, we were having a hard time spotting them among the leaves. Afterwards, he said it was the best hike we had had in a while–and that he really liked making the “moss river.” I really liked it, too, for almost 20 minutes, we simply hunted, collected and shared in each other’s excitement.

We’ll be sculpting again, soon!

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summer camp in coloradocolorado summer campsSanborn Western Campsnature activities
Ariella Rogge
About Ariella Rogge

Ariella started her career at Sanborn when she was twelve. After five years of camper and five years of Sanborn staff experience, she continued her work with kids in the high school classroom. Ariella and her family returned to Sanborn in 2001 to take on the Program Director role which she held til 2012. She and Elizabeth Marable became co-directors of High Trails in 2013 and then Ariella became the High Trails Director in 2020. In the fall of 2022 she became the Director of Sanborn Western Camps, overseeing the director teams of both Big Spring and High Trails. She lists mountain golf, Gymkhana, climbing mountains and making Pad Thai in the backcountry as some of her favorite activities at camp. Ariella received a B.A. in English from Colorado College and is a certified secondary English educator,an ACCT Level 2 Ropes Course Technician, an ARC lifeguard and NREMT and WEMT. She lives in Florissant in the summer and in Green Mountain Falls during the school year so she can stay involved with the busy lives of her husband, Matt, and two teenage sons, Lairden and Karsten.