ABSTRACT
In this chapter we explore, through the testimonies of primary school girls and boys from the town of Tepoztlán and Mexico City, how children experience nature. In Tepoztlán, children's testimonies and drawings show that they have a concept of living, personified nature, and a deep knowledge of their natural surroundings. Tepoztlán is a town of more than 40,000 people in the state of Morelos. The community is a traditional Nahua community that has strongly maintained many cultural traditions, rituals, and festivals despite the influx of tourism. Through ethnographic research methods, we expose the way in which children inherit a very close relationship with the natural environment and with their territory, as well as the reasons why they love their land. In comparison, testimonies of children from Mexico City, gained through a letter exchange with children in Tepoztlán, show how the relationships with children is increasingly distant in this megacity. We end this chapter with a discussion of children's rights to nature in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
