Does the Maker Love Snails?

My son loves origami, and he made me this snail today. I know very little about Japanese culture and the role of origami, but I have noticed that a large portion of origami projects in our books are based on nature - shrimp, birds, turtles, etc. I wonder if children learning origami necessarily also learn to love the subjects of their origami. Or, could there be a huge separation? I have known many American kids, for example, who through Discovery Channel and various nature videos learn a lot about rain forests, whales, penguins, and other exotic species but know little or nothing and care little about the wildlife in their own back yards. In this blog I have tried to show wondrous living things that are all around us, but can they compete with what's on TV? Let's hope so. Don't let your kids spend most of their time "plugged in." Take a walk with them on the wild side. "In wildness is the preservation of the world." Henry Thoreau I don't think wildness on TV or a computer monitor counts.