All Blog Posts (867)

An early connection with nature is essential to healthy development. At JMT Adventures, we don't just want to connect kids with the outdoors--we aim to foster a love for nature that will last a lifetime.

We provide an immersive nature experience unlike any other, leading teens on a 22-day, 210-mile thru hike of the John Muir Trail (JMT).  Campers will sleep under the Sierra stars and wake up to the morning…

Childhood is a very special and magical time. Childhood is sacred.

Childhood is when we learn about the world and ourselves, and provides a foundation of who we’ll be in the future. That is why it is so important to have experiences in nature, exploring the “Wonder” of it all.

Disconnected

So many have forgotten and have…

Sound faded away as my heart stopped.  I sucked in a breath so I could frantically yell, “Get down!  What are you doing?!”  My precious little boy was precariously balancing on a tree root, probably only millimeters thick.  This tiny root holding my 2-year-old was jutting out over angry water that was certainly miles deep and so cold hypothermia would set in instantaneously.  Is that gale force wind I feel?  Surely the next gust would cause my son to lose his already perilous…

Three-year old Ivan is sitting beside a small campfire in Nordmarka, Oslo's public forest, looking pretty pleased. For one, he has convinced his mother, Katja, to prepare pinnebrød for him: a classic outdoors delight of dough wrapped around a stick and cooked over the flames. But also, more importantly, Ivan tried out skiing for the first time today! In Norway, a country that claims cross-country skiing as a national sport, this is a big…

You've probably heard a lot about the polar vortex in recent weeks.  Here is a great, short article that will answer all of your questions.What is a polar vortex?

Forest Kindergarten newsletter – Jan. 2014 ©Erin Kenny 2014

January in the northwest was quite warm and we actually had some barefoot days. The temperatures have fooled the plant world into thinking it is spring: the pussywillows are in bloom, the nettles are ½ inch tall, new grass is sprouting, the elderberry buds are opening, hazelnut catkins are dangling and there are buds on many twigs. Evidence of spring is obvious in the animal world too as we have suddenly heard…

This is my son on the tip top of Everest.  Or, that’s how I presented this little dirt hill outside of my daughter’s school.  One thing to remember is that exploring and appreciating nature doesn’t always have to be something big.  You don’t have to climb Everest to admire the view.  You don’t have to stand by a giant redwood to be…

A sixth-grade girl waved me over to point out a small, puffy mushroom on the side of the trail. “It’s cool,” she breathed. “What is it?!”

I felt a sudden panic. Over the course of my environmental educator training, I had learned the names of countless mushrooms, trees and critters in this part of the western Connecticut forest, but I had never seen this type before. What was it? I had no…

OUTDOOR SPACES & CLASSROOMS

When children and nature mix, something magical happens. I am fortunate to witness that magic every day in our outdoor classrooms.

With Spring time just around the corner, what better time to start thinking about creating an Outdoor Space or Classroom.…

Scale Free Network has just published the art-science storybook 'The Squid, the Vibrio & the Moon'.

This is the first story to emerge from the Microbial Symbiosis Storytelling Project.

As the name suggests, the project will tell stories about microorganisms (like bacteria, fungi and viruses) and the amazing intimate relationships they form with each other, and larger forms of life.

Our intention is to inspire children and adults to love our under-appreciated small…

Listen. What do you hear?  

Look.  What do you see?  

Breathe.  What do you smell?  

Touch.  What do you feel?

Karan would like to invite you to visit the E-Corps site

Watch our Video About E-Corps - Meet our Crew!  …

Jan. 27, 2014

We trekked Bear Canyon today and found cool, but ominous looking seed pods, fine sparkly dirt that Seamus wants to test with water to see if it will bond like clay, and we noticed all the things his instructor had talked about in Rocks class at the Natural History Museum; Boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand and silt to name a few...We had a nice discussion about the arroyo, the aquifer and why Bear Canyon was an important place to preserve and learn from.  Seamus noticed a…

Read how you and your kids can creatively support the parks!

“Going outside the classroom – and observing what is right there – that is where meaningful learning happens.” 

Lilian Katz, Professor Emerita of Early Childhood Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign…

Forest Kindergarten newsletter –  ©Erin Kenny 2013

In the pacific northwest of the U.S., the time of winter solstice feels more like the middle of winter than the beginning. Our wet season begins in early fall and runs right through late spring! This year we have noticed some unusual activity in the plant world that seems to indicate spring rather than winter, such as new leaf buds emerging, hazelnut and alder catkins pollinating, increased bird activity and the…

http://www.meetup.com/Our-World-School-Homeschool-Co-op

Love begins from a place no words can describe. Nature reaches this place with it's silent, gentle nudge to our sensibilities if we would just listen. Our boundaries are non-existent when it comes to nature and showing the respect it deserves. Reach beyond, with loving hands, what you think you know and learn more. BM…