WOODS & WATER
Living systems
Look more closely at the shoreline, forest floor, plants, animals, and changing conditions around Lake Murray.
ILLUSTRATED NONFICTION • AGES 8–11
The Wild Around Us: Dreher Island
Understand what you are seeing—and discover what you cannot see at first glance.
This illustrated journey brings together shoreline ecology, wildlife, local history, geography, recreation, and the systems that shape Dreher Island today.
WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER
A real place explained in connected layers.
Designed for curious readers, families, homeschoolers, and classrooms, the book helps readers connect individual observations to the larger place.
THEN & NOW
History beneath the lake
Consider how older roads, homesites, communities, and the creation of the reservoir remain part of the place.
PEOPLE & PLACE
How Dreher works
See how recreation, park work, infrastructure, visitor choices, and stewardship shape the island experience.
LOOK CLOSER
A lake can look like a single surface until you understand what is happening beneath it.
The illustrated underwater spread reveals structure, habitat, food relationships, and the connections between animals above and below the water.
The spread taught me what to look for.
That is the larger purpose of The Wild Around Us: not simply to show readers more, but to help them return to a real place able to notice more for themselves.
START NOTICING NOW
Keep exploring after the last page.
The free Wild Around Us Explorer Pack turns attention into field notes, photo stories, seasonal comparisons, small mysteries, and family challenges—at Dreher or wherever you are.
FOR CURIOUS FAMILIES AND EXPLORERS
Notice more wherever you are.
The world gets more interesting when you pay attention.
The Wild Around Us Explorer Pack is a free printable collection of simple ways to slow down, look closer, and record what you discover.
Use it beside a lake, on a trail, around your neighborhood, in a schoolyard, in the backyard—or even from a window.
You don’t need special equipment or a big adventure. Choose one page, find a place to begin, and see what catches your attention.
- Maps and field notes
- Small-detail investigations
- Seasonal comparisons and mysteries
- Family exploration challenges
For grown-ups: Let the explorer do the noticing. Help with writing when needed; you do not need to know every answer.
Explore with care: Follow local rules, keep children with an adult near water, and leave plants, wildlife, and found objects where they are.
WHAT’S INSIDE
A little structure for a lot more noticing.
The Explorer Pack includes activities that help you observe a whole place, study one small detail, return to see what has changed, and save the discoveries you want to remember.
- Adventure Map Sheet — draw your route and mark the discoveries you make.
- Look Closer: A Loblolly Pinecone — slow down and notice pattern, shape, and detail.
- Field Notes: A Whole Scene — pause in one place and record what you almost missed.
- Field Notes: One Small Detail — zoom in on a leaf, shadow, feather, bark, or another small discovery.
- Where Woods Meet Water — explore what happens where two habitats meet.
- Five Photos Story Page — tell the story of a place in five pictures or drawings.
- Seasonal Comparison Page — return to the same spot and see what has changed.
- Little Mystery: Who Was Here? — look for clues left behind.
- Little Mystery Finder Page — gather evidence and consider possible explanations.
- Family Field Challenges — try six small adventures together.
A LOOK INSIDE
Real pages from the Explorer Pack.
HOW TO USE IT
Start wherever you are.
Print the whole pack or choose just one page.
Bring a pencil and something firm to write on, or copy a prompt into a notebook. No book, phone, or special equipment is required.
Try one activity for 10–20 minutes.
Let curiosity decide what happens next.
Children can sketch, write, dictate, take photos, or simply talk about what they notice. An unfinished page can still hold a worthwhile discovery.
AT DREHER—AND BEYOND
Use it almost anywhere.
The Explorer Pack was created alongside The Wild Around Us: Dreher Island, but you do not need to be at Dreher Island to use it.
- beside a lake
- along a trail
- in a campground
- around your neighborhood
- in a garden or schoolyard
- from your own window
The point isn’t to find a particular answer. It’s to practice looking closely enough to discover something you might otherwise have missed.
FOR GROWN-UPS
Let the explorer do the noticing.
You don’t need to know the names of every plant, animal, track, or tree.
Help with writing when needed, but let the observations belong to the explorer.
Over time, those small discoveries can become a deeper understanding of a place—and a reason to keep paying attention.
EXPLORE WITH CARE
Wander. Wonder. Discover. Connect. Protect.
Follow local rules and stay in permitted areas.
Leave plants, wildlife, and found objects where they are. Observe unfamiliar things without touching or tasting them, and keep children with an adult—especially near water.
WANT TO GO DEEPER AT DREHER ISLAND?
Explore The Wild Around Us: Dreher Island.
The Explorer Pack began with the same idea behind The Wild Around Us: Dreher Island: a place becomes more interesting when you slow down enough to notice it.