spirit, he believes passing his passion
on to his sons “was more a case of
exposure and giving them a chance
to experience the outdoors and have
fun” than a natural phenomenon.
“It was important to me that my
children loved the outdoors as much
as I do, but I had to be careful not
to overdo it.” Cosmo introduced his
children to the outdoors slowly and
made sure it was always entertaining
for them. His patience paid off:
the threesome regularly enjoys an
afternoon scrambling up waterfalls
and enjoying invaluable father-son
bonding time.
Meanwhile, sporty adventure
enthusiasts Emma and Thorsten
Bruce found their active lifestyle
naturally rubbed off on sons Daniel,
ten, and Finlay, nine, without too
much encouragement. “I think
they saw us taking part in outdoor
activities and were keen to do
the same. They have been doing
triathlons with open water sea swims
for years and have both taken part
in adventure races three times... the
outdoors and fitness is such a big part
of our lives,” says Emma.
Raising their children in active
Discovery Bay has also helped. “We
are always outdoors somewhere fun…
playing on the beach, jumping off
waterfalls or discovering our own
adventures,” adds Thorsten.
Lead by example
Adventure photographer and runner,
Lloyd Belcher, agrees: to instil a love
and respect for the outdoors in your
child, you have to lead by example.
“If you don’t foster your own love
of nature, how can you expect your
child to?” Although his 13-year-old
daughter, Anya, “has her moments”,
the pair regularly explores their
backyard on Lantau, hiking or
scrambling up more challenging
routes over the island’s many peaks.
“In my case, because these were the
activities I loved to do, Anya was
always brought along for the ride. She
was on my shoulders when hiking
until she could start walking,” says
Lloyd.
While they enjoy adventures
together, he admits it didn’t just
happen. And simply because
he
loves
trail running, it doesn’t mean it
came naturally to his now-teenage
daughter. “By no means is she always
up for it… she particularly doesn’t
like running, as she reminded me this
morning.”
Living amongst nature will, of
course, make access a little easier,
but is in no ways a prerequisite
to inspiring a nature connection
June 2014
79
