FEATURE
Growing My Wings:
The Annual Fairy House Festival
Fairy houses are small constructions made entirely from non-living, natural materials. Some participants incorporate living elements by building their houses next to or even around plants, moss, and fungi. Photo by Alice Chambers.
Wonder: (as defined by The Britannica Dictionary)
Verb
1. to have interest in knowing or learning something: to think about
something with curiosity
2. to feel surprise or amazement
Noun
1. something or someone that is very surprising, beautiful, amazing,
etc.
2. a feeling caused by seeing something that is very surprising,
beautiful, amazing, etc.
Note: wonder is sometimes confused with wander
I am an environmental educator. I am also, occasionally, a butterfly fairy. These two things are not mutually exclusive. As an educator working at Quest Nature Center in Latta Nature Preserve in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, a fundamental part of my job is introducing visitors to nature by providing public education about the natural world. One of the key tenets of environmental education is that by creating a sense of connection with the environment, we can inspire people to have a greater appreciation for the planet we live on.
One of the best ways I have found to create that sense of connection is by hooking into human beings’ innate sense of curiosity. When we are young, the questions we have about nature seem simple enough: “Why is the sky blue?” and “How do flowers grow?” As we get older, the curiosity remains even as the questions become more complex: “What exactly is climate change? What am I supposed to do about it?” and “No, but for real, why is the sky blue?”
The meanings of curiosity and wonder overlap; both relate in some way to the desire to learn. Depending on which dictionary you’re using, the words might feature in each other’s definitions and are even used interchangeably by people worldwide. The phrase “I wonder…” has preceded innumerable scientific discoveries but also appears in our day to day lives. As Albert Einstein purportedly said, “Whoever…can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and [their] eyes are dimmed.” Curiosity ultimately leads to wonder—by asking questions, we uncover new information and new questions, and we come to realize how incredibly complex and interwoven every part of our world is. By following the trail that curiosity creates, we are left with a sense of wonder, awe, and most importantly, connection.
Nature Center staff Dan Meyer helping a participant navigate a slackline at the Flight Club station. At this station, participants can learn to “fly”, or at least balance, on slacklines and mid-air obstacle courses. Photo by Alice Chambers.
All of which leads me to ask: why don’t adults ask more questions? Human beings never lose that sense of curiosity and the desire to know more, but as we grow older it feels less socially acceptable to ask questions about any given topic. When engaging with adults in programs or around the nature center, I notice they often seem reluctant to admit when they don’t know something, as if not having that knowledge is something to be ashamed of. The question we as interpreters must then ask ourselves is: “How can we create a space where everyone can ask questions without fear and let that sense of wonder for the natural world freely grow?” The answer, at least in my job, is simple: dress up like a fairy.
Latta Nature Preserve’s annual Fairy House Festival began in 2009. Although it quickly grew in popularity with local residents, the event seemed to lack focus and staff struggled to articulate any recognizable objectives beyond “build a fairy house.” After becoming the festival’s director in 2016, my first self-appointed task was to create a Theme, Vision, and Mission that would give our festival a chance not only to attract visitors to the preserve but to also ignite a sense of wonder and appreciation for nature. And what better way to do that than by celebrating the magic of nature that can be found all around you? Hence, a slow but steady rebranding of the Fairy House Festival began.
The festival offers participants a variety of stations where they can explore nature through hands-on activities, such as fairy gardening, dragon themed scavenger hunts, or up-close looks at butterfly wings and fungi. Whether trading trash for treasures like shells at Gnome Depot or making a mess with tree bark rubbings in Artist Alley, all activities in the festival are designed to promote a sense of wonder for the magic of nature and build a greater appreciation for the outdoors.
The main attraction is, of course, constructing the fairy houses: tiny homes built from bark, pinecones, and whatever else can be found on the forest floor. Builders attend an Orientation where they review building regulations, like only using non-living, natural materials found on site in Latta’s forest. Once they’ve been issued a builder’s permit, they can begin construction within Faylinn Village, located on one of the woodland trails next to Mt. Island Lake. Local fairies will wander through and tour the houses under construction, offering helpful hints or strange requests for particular building features, like unicorn stables and dragonfly landing platforms.
Participants must attend Building Orientation before constructing their fairy home. Staff build model homes to demonstrate techniques and materials. Photo by Alice Chambers.
Nature Center staff Kristen Haas playing the hand bells while participants play the maracas and slap drum. The Artist Alley station offers the chance to explore many different kinds of art, like drawing, tree bark rubbings, weaving, and music. Enthusiastic musicians add a vibrant soundtrack to the festival. Photo by Alice Chambers.
A family creating acorn bell necklaces at the Magic Crafts station. Adults are encouraged to participate just as much as the younger festival-goers and are often spotted building fairy houses or sporting their own fashionable neckwear. Photo by Alice Chambers.
Fairy friends like Ellowee the Fairy fly in from all over the region to visit with participants. Photo by Alice Chambers.
Since 2016, the event has nearly tripled in size, attracts visitors from multiple states, and invites participation from interpretive partners across the region. As the festival thrives and grows, the primary mission remains the same: inspiring participants to experience nature in new and fantastic ways. By providing opportunities for visitors of all ages to explore and interact with nature, the festival creates a space where everyone, including adults, can feel free to indulge their curiosity. For example, when on a walk through a city park, the sight of a tree can be commonplace, and most people don’t stop to check it out or even wonder about its existence.
But when confronted with the uncommon sight of an Oak Tree Fairy sitting underneath that same tree, visitors are intrigued and stop to ask simple questions like “Who are you and what are you doing?”, giving the interpreter (i.e., the fairy) the chance to teach them about this fantastic part of nature. Whether it’s through a brief encounter with a fairy or a longer visit to one of the festival’s many activity stations, participants have countless opportunities to ignite (or perhaps re-ignite) the innate sense of wonder for nature that is within all of us.
One of my favorite parts of the festival has to be the interactions between participants and event staff. Each member of the nature center team takes an active part in planning details for every activity station, and staff are encouraged to sign up to work at stations in which they have a personal interest. So, gardeners gravitate to the Fairy Garden station, creating recycled planters and native seed balls, whereas our Outdoor Recreation Specialists enjoy the high energy of the slackline obstacle course at Flight Club. Regardless of which station they choose, staff bring a sense of excitement and wonder to that activity which shows in every interaction they have. Volunteers are equally important to this event; like so many interpretive sites, we could not function without them. The festival receives help from Master Naturalists, Scouts, high schoolers, and of course, the fairies.
You don’t need to turn into a magical creature to inspire wonder or find it in your work. Although I do admit, the wings help. The first time I put on a pair of butterfly fairy wings in 2014, they were a homemade affair put together in less than two hours with supplies I could find around the house. To be honest, they didn’t resemble an actual butterfly all that much. While they were meant to look like monarch wings, they resembled that butterfly in the same way that an apple resembles a tomato; that is to say, they had a similar shape and color but that’s about it. When I looked at myself in the mirror, all I could think was “Well, here we go. Might as well do this since you’ve already put in the time and effort.” I didn’t expect much, it was just another special event for our department. I had no idea that I would eventually become the festival director and I certainly never anticipated the impact this event would have on my life.
Over a decade later, I have honed that homemade monarch costume into “Wander the Butterfly Fairy,” recruited professional and amateur fairies from across the region to be a part of the event, and find myself looking at the natural world with a greater sense of wonder than ever before. While the name “Wander” was chosen based on the migration habits of the monarch butterfly, festival participants sometimes call me “Wonder” instead, a mistaken identity I am nonetheless happy to accept. I am, after all, doing my best to inspire wonder as I wander around the festival.
As any event director can tell you, the job is by no means a sedentary one. At some point in the planning process, the giant ball that is the event starts rolling on its own and it can take everything you’ve got to not only keep up with it, but also stay one step ahead. If you go to a festival and look around, you should be able to spot the director pretty easily; we’re usually the ones power-walking through the site with dual looks of slight panic and “Wow, this is actually going really well!” on our faces. Now picture that same person dressed in bright orange with a giant pair of wings—that’s me!
A fairy house builder posing with her fairy home in Faylinn Village. Builders have the option to enter their homes in the Fairy House Contest; winners and their homes are posted on Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation’s social media. Photo by Alice Chambers.
As Wander the Butterfly Fairy, I can connect with our festival participants in a different way than as Ms. Christine the educator; when a monarch butterfly fairy tells a five-year-old there is magic in the woods, they believe it, no questions asked! I have the freedom to move around the event as needed to facilitate activities, check on my team, and create magical moments for all our participants, not just the young ones.
There is something freeing about talking with a fairy for five-year-olds and fifty-year-olds alike. Adults who might otherwise avoid asking questions for fear of being shamed for not knowing something will easily interact with Wander, asking me whatever it is they desperately want to learn. I’ve had all kinds of questions, from the simple “What is a native plant? Is that something I want in my yard?” to the biologically complex “Okay, you explained the sky color, but why is grass green?” While they may seem silly, I love the questions I get while walking around as Wander. More importantly, I love the look of amazement and satisfaction that adults have when I answer those questions with zero judgement.
A festival participant displaying some of the treasures collected at the event. Fairies and interpretive partners are encouraged to use natural materials when handing out treasures. Some participants spend the entire event looking for new friends and the trinkets they provide. Photo by Alice Chambers.
A festival participant showing off her wings for Wander the Fairy. Participants are encouraged to dress up for the event and are often excited to display their new wings for the fairies. Photo by Alice Chambers.
As an environmental educator, I often find myself giving the same programs again and again all year round; there’s only so many times you can present the Terrific Trees program for school groups before you find yourself mentally clocking out. This is why I value the Fairy House Festival and the experiences I have there so much. These interactions stay with me all year long and remind me to step back and look at the world through the eyes of someone who is learning these things for the first time. Concepts like chlorophyll and photosynthesis may seem pretty tame to an educator who’s been doing this for a while, but when we look at them with a fresh sense of curiosity, they can still evoke a sense of wonder within us.
Since beginning my work with the festival, one of my daily reminders is to approach every program and every interaction as if I am wearing my wings. As I said, you don’t have to dress up like a fairy to find wonder in this world or in our field. But, for me at least, it definitely helps.
