The outdoors was my place as a child. In the summertime, my family took long, rustic camping trips to the Adirondack Mountains and explored the Maritime Provinces coast by coast. At home, my yard brimmed over with birds and plants. As I observed and learned about them, an early interest in nature journaling blossomed. Then, as a teen, my outdoor world expanded, thanks to my bike. I realized I could go places and I did – Taughannock Falls, vistas around Cayuga Lake, the country roads between Trumansburg and Podunk, N.Y. Being outdoors made me feel connected to something bigger. It calmed my teenage angst and brought me a sense of joy unlike anything else. Midlife, I discovered haiku and found a way to express the connections to nature I had experienced during my youth. It felt like a homecoming. Since the tradition of haiku is to share them, I have become a teacher of haiku now. The best teachers, however, are haiku themselves, and the outdoors. I encourage my students (and you) to read haiku, to spend time outdoors, and to notice. What we come to know and love, we also desire to protect.