The literary critic Raymond Williams once wrote that “Nature is perhaps the most complex word in the language.” It’s a head-scratcher right up there with love, or goodness: We depend on it for survival, but we’re often not quite sure where it is, what it is, or whether we’re a part of it. Jessica Mikels-Carrasco, who recently completed her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Notre Dame, asked a group of kindergarten and elementary-aged children in South Bend, Indiana, to weigh in on the puzzle. “Draw me a picture of nature,” she told them, and they did.
(Click on any image to view a larger version.)
Nature is Fun: Marissa, an elementary-school student, drew a picture of “birds flying, wind, grass, tree with sticks coming out with tire swing and me in it and a sun.”
Nature is a Game: A fourth-grade girl drew a hopscotch game on the sidewalk.
Nature is at the Beach, With Monsters: Mary, a preschooler, drew a picture of herself and her family on their usual vacation to the beach. She drew herself playing ball with a friendly monster.
Nature Bites: Zack, a first grader, drew a picture of stinging bees in his family’s garden. Would he like to go there? “Yeah, would go, but only if bee don’t sting me. If they sting me I won’t go.”
Nature is Scary: Drawn by Ryan, a kindergartener. “A black fox is going to eat a tree,” he said. When asked what people would do if they were there: “Maybe try to get back in the car because the fox will attack them.”
Nature is Really, Really Scary: Timothy, a preschooler, drew a “scary bear” that would eat him in the middle of the night.
Nature is Over There: Andrew, a kindergartener, said this was a picture of the woods on the other side of his backyard fence. He would really like to go “pet the animals,” he said, but his mom doesn’t allow him beyond the fence.
Nature is In There: Shelly, a kindergartener, drew a picture of a bunny at a pet store.
Nature is Nowhere: Martin, an elementary-school student, drew a picture of “the middle of nowhere” — a place he said was nice and peaceful. “I’m right here playing on [the] swing set in beautiful daylight, blue sky, nice warm sun that is keeping us alive.” He then said, “I know where it is — it’s in Mexico!”
Nature is Far Away: Camilla, a preschooler, drew a picture of her friends riding horseback … in the Kalahari Desert. (Her family is from Africa, and she has visited the Kalahari with them.)
Nature is Neverland: When I asked my almost six-year-old daughter to draw me a picture of nature, this is what she came up with. “That’s our house, and a giant fern tree, and you and me and Papa as fairies.” Of course.
Gallery images courtesy of Jessica Mikels-Carrasco, who collected and analyzed them as part of her dissertation on the environmental sociology of children. Top image: A chalk drawing by Thomas Monro, an English artist and physician who lived from 1759-1833. Courtesy of the Shepherd Gallery.
36 thoughts on “Draw Me a Picture of Nature”
Fabulous sketch. Without a lot of words, our quandary with nature in modern society is captured.
Thank you for sharing. Children and nature go hand-in-hand, as it should be.
Very well done. Thought provoking. I appreciate you for sharing.
wow i love their drawings honestly i don’t know what i would have drawn if it was me. nice work
Very interesting
The perception of nature is different in people just as it is in beauty or success.
Wonderful work!
I love seeing the different perspectives the kids have on nature, especially the image showing the hopscotch besides the road. Often times whenever I hear the word, “nature” I think of birds, bees, butterflies, trees, grass, essentially anything not made by humans. But now that I think about it, humans are just as much a part of nature. We just don’t realize it sometimes.
Nice article by the way.
I enjoyed these tremendously! Pretty provocative when you think about it deeply, but also just fun.
Wow. Nice job
So interesting to see the contrast in depictions of nature from this perspective (i.e. scary nature vs. peaceful nature). Just serves to capture how little we really know about the world we live in.
Thx. Great Work
Haha! How beautiful…are the sketches and the thought behind them!
Great article! What one word can mean for different people..
A true depiction of versatile views of nature and our part in it. How we see it is how we interact with it and effect it.
A impressive and informative article.
I loved this. I’ve reblogged it on ‘Every time I open my mouth some idiot starts talking’.
I love this, but I feel a little sad for the children who associated nature with scary things, it’s so important to engage children with the natural world and encourage curiosity and appreciation, even with the stingy bees and the scary bears!
It is comendable the article and the sketches as well.
Thought provoking
Why do we lose the ability to think this way? Children so often simply cut through the mess of confusion to the simple importance.
Love this sketch.
Interesting, also somewhat scary to see views of art by juveniles depicting nightmarish scenes of nature. Ideas I am sure gleaned from there parents, who, by virtue of showing their fears, as in grabbing their kids then running out of , or away from the scene screaming, ‘will someone come and kill that moth, spider, snake’, etcetera, etcetera. A sure way of instilling a fear of nature in their kids. It happens in my extended family all the time, its a fear so acute that it even plays its self out when any of them come visiting. Its a sorry state of afairs, but in this highly technical, digital era, the media can be blamed for most of how nature is percived by adults and children alike. Programs with titles such as ‘Worlds Scariest, Critters’, ‘Worlds Most Nightmarish Ainimals’, ‘Dealy Sharks’ , documentaries all aimed at children. Children who usually scare their guardians with creatures from the garden, spend most of the time covering therr eyes behind a cushion, hiding behind the sofa, while watching these types of so called documentaries, is that right, I think not? Paintings of bears eating daddy should be expected., and that has to be scary. By all means make kid’s aware that there are circumstances that could endanger their lives if they don’t abide by a simple rule or two, like, ‘look, but don’t interfere with’, or ‘create a situation that puts themselves, or whatever they are observing in danger’.
These pictures of nature are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
really fun.i likes kids ideas to the nature.
This is a very nice piece. I have looked at every sketch and just like comment-leavers before me, it is indeed interesting to see all these perspectives from little ones. I think too, what I would have drawn–but I bet the children didn’t have to think as long as an adult may have to–much more spontaneous! Thanks again.
interesting, good idea for an experiment
Very interesting. And thought-provoking. I’ll have to try this with my grandkids and see what they come up with.
From the minds of babes comes some truths and some creative 1000 word explanations. Thanks for bloggin’
Very interesting! Nice piece thoroughly enjoyed reading it
Refreshing to read. Agree with other commenters. Important insights about gently supporting children to interact with natural elements. Love Martin’s words: “the middle of nowhere” — a place he said was nice and peaceful. Pointers for urban planners (all of us really) – butterflies and grass and ‘nowhere’ space benefit everyone .
I agree…
Wow that is amazing and so interesting to see how children relate their own life to creative things such as drawing,acting etc
Very interesting study! Thanks for sharing in a way that was simple to understand.
As a teacher who loves nature, I find this article fascinating.
I’d be interested in hearing studies done in different parts of the country. My nephew lives in a city in the southern United States. He hardly ever goes out in nature because it is hot and there isn’t much nature in the city and it’s often too hot to go outside anyway. He loves visiting my parents, who live in the country up north. It’s usually a comfortable temperature, and there are mountains and trees everywhere. I would love to see the differences in drawings of kids from urban vs. rural places and from hot vs. moderate climates.
The literary critic Raymond Williams once wrote that “Nature is perhaps the most complex word in the language.” It’s a head-scratcher right up there with love, or goodness: We depend on it for survival, but we’re often not quite sure where it is, what it is, or whether we’re a part of it. Jessica Mikels-Carrasco, who recently completed her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Notre Dame, asked a group of kindergarten and elementary-aged children in South Bend, Indiana, to weigh in on the puzzle. “Draw me a picture of nature,” she told them, and they did. 
Fabulous sketch. Without a lot of words, our quandary with nature in modern society is captured.
Thank you for sharing. Children and nature go hand-in-hand, as it should be.
Very well done. Thought provoking. I appreciate you for sharing.
wow i love their drawings honestly i don’t know what i would have drawn if it was me. nice work
Very interesting
The perception of nature is different in people just as it is in beauty or success.
Wonderful work!
I love seeing the different perspectives the kids have on nature, especially the image showing the hopscotch besides the road. Often times whenever I hear the word, “nature” I think of birds, bees, butterflies, trees, grass, essentially anything not made by humans. But now that I think about it, humans are just as much a part of nature. We just don’t realize it sometimes.
Nice article by the way.
I enjoyed these tremendously! Pretty provocative when you think about it deeply, but also just fun.
Wow. Nice job
So interesting to see the contrast in depictions of nature from this perspective (i.e. scary nature vs. peaceful nature). Just serves to capture how little we really know about the world we live in.
Thx. Great Work
Haha! How beautiful…are the sketches and the thought behind them!
Great article! What one word can mean for different people..
Nice one…very thought provoking !!
Good! 🙂
INTERESTING. I LOVE IT.
A true depiction of versatile views of nature and our part in it. How we see it is how we interact with it and effect it.
A impressive and informative article.
I loved this. I’ve reblogged it on ‘Every time I open my mouth some idiot starts talking’.
I love this, but I feel a little sad for the children who associated nature with scary things, it’s so important to engage children with the natural world and encourage curiosity and appreciation, even with the stingy bees and the scary bears!
It is comendable the article and the sketches as well.
Thought provoking
Why do we lose the ability to think this way? Children so often simply cut through the mess of confusion to the simple importance.
Love this sketch.
Interesting, also somewhat scary to see views of art by juveniles depicting nightmarish scenes of nature. Ideas I am sure gleaned from there parents, who, by virtue of showing their fears, as in grabbing their kids then running out of , or away from the scene screaming, ‘will someone come and kill that moth, spider, snake’, etcetera, etcetera. A sure way of instilling a fear of nature in their kids. It happens in my extended family all the time, its a fear so acute that it even plays its self out when any of them come visiting. Its a sorry state of afairs, but in this highly technical, digital era, the media can be blamed for most of how nature is percived by adults and children alike. Programs with titles such as ‘Worlds Scariest, Critters’, ‘Worlds Most Nightmarish Ainimals’, ‘Dealy Sharks’ , documentaries all aimed at children. Children who usually scare their guardians with creatures from the garden, spend most of the time covering therr eyes behind a cushion, hiding behind the sofa, while watching these types of so called documentaries, is that right, I think not? Paintings of bears eating daddy should be expected., and that has to be scary. By all means make kid’s aware that there are circumstances that could endanger their lives if they don’t abide by a simple rule or two, like, ‘look, but don’t interfere with’, or ‘create a situation that puts themselves, or whatever they are observing in danger’.
These pictures of nature are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
really fun.i likes kids ideas to the nature.
This is a very nice piece. I have looked at every sketch and just like comment-leavers before me, it is indeed interesting to see all these perspectives from little ones. I think too, what I would have drawn–but I bet the children didn’t have to think as long as an adult may have to–much more spontaneous! Thanks again.
interesting, good idea for an experiment
Very interesting. And thought-provoking. I’ll have to try this with my grandkids and see what they come up with.
From the minds of babes comes some truths and some creative 1000 word explanations. Thanks for bloggin’
Very interesting! Nice piece thoroughly enjoyed reading it
Refreshing to read. Agree with other commenters. Important insights about gently supporting children to interact with natural elements. Love Martin’s words: “the middle of nowhere” — a place he said was nice and peaceful. Pointers for urban planners (all of us really) – butterflies and grass and ‘nowhere’ space benefit everyone .
I agree…
Wow that is amazing and so interesting to see how children relate their own life to creative things such as drawing,acting etc
Very interesting study! Thanks for sharing in a way that was simple to understand.
As a teacher who loves nature, I find this article fascinating.
I’d be interested in hearing studies done in different parts of the country. My nephew lives in a city in the southern United States. He hardly ever goes out in nature because it is hot and there isn’t much nature in the city and it’s often too hot to go outside anyway. He loves visiting my parents, who live in the country up north. It’s usually a comfortable temperature, and there are mountains and trees everywhere. I would love to see the differences in drawings of kids from urban vs. rural places and from hot vs. moderate climates.