Featured Blog Posts (303)

On May 13, FedEx launched the Grow a Greener School Contest on…

Lotto's Super-Awesome Unbelievable Park Adventure is all about outdoor discovery and adventure for the three kids in the book.  And this weekend, Lotto, his brother, Armond and his sister, Riley are helping get kids outdoors - so to speak.…

Compassion fosters a feeling of connectedness and peace

Gardening is all about Compassion

Gardening is tending to the soil with…

SPRING April/May/June

How to Actively Engage Children with Nature through Art.

The first six years of a child’s life are really important in their development. Being in nature ia a really dynamic place in which to learn.

Contact…

IditaNature is just around the corner - it starts in just 3 days...on Saturday, March 2nd, just like the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race! Challenge your kids, family, friends, or students to spend as many minutes outside as the Iditarod is long in miles...so 1,150 minutes or 17+ hours over two weeks. If they meet the challenge, the reward can be whatever you dream up. Prizes of outdoor gear or doing something fun together in nature: go out for…

I am very excited about the Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology's upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count. It takes place Friday-Monday, February 15-18, all over North America.…

This blog post has come from my regular blog, I'm a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here! But I thought visitors to Children & Nature Network might enjoy this too.

Whilst attending the 4th International Skogsmulle Symposium in Japan, several presentations were given. This is a guest post by Anita Egle, a Swede who resides in Germany and has run Skogsmulle sessions in Bavaria since 1989. It is a written…

In his inaugural address, President Obama made the environment a top priority for his second term. Many were surprised by his resolve. However I wondered…was this truly a shift in government policy, or was something else at work here?

As I began to look for answers, I was pleasantly surprised to find that many eco-friendly programs have already been set into motion and are gaining…

"Songs for Junior Rangers" is a 20 song CD that was recently released by the National Park Service to help connect families to the parks through music. It covers a variety of topics from sea turtles to the Tuskegee Airmen in a diversity of music styles from hip hop to a polka to jazz, blues and more.  Most of…

Explorers Bird Song

As part of our ongoing Project FeederWatch unit, our class has been learning about the birds we observe at our feeders.   These kids are amazing!  They come into class every day excited to share stories about the birds they have seen at home -- they love to report that they are able to identify birds for their parents and are…

Animal Tracks & the Prospect Heights Trail

We hit the Prospect Heights Trail, on the upper hillside, yesterday morning in search of animal tracks, our theme for the Trek. We found a lot of…

Do you work with middle and high school youth?  Do you have teamwork and collaboration skill outcomes for your programs?  



If so, we'd love your input into some new tools we are developing!



The Science Museum of Minnesota and University of Minnesota are working to develop surveys for program staff and evaluators to measure teamwork and collaboration skills in science and nature out-of school time programs. We are in the planning stage of developing these survey tools.  We…

Just in! Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. He predicted an early spring on Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day, February 2, has basically everything going for it that I love in a holiday -- It marks a…

We should all be worried about the gaping psychological chasm separating humanity from nature. Indeed a strong argument can be made that bridging this divide deserves to be ranked amongst the most urgent 21^st Century priorities. Yet so far the human-nature divide hasn’t even made it to our cultural to-do list.

For the past several decades, numerous scientists and environmentalists have been telling us that we must change our ways and strike a balance with nature, or face…

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. – Helen Keller

Being Green.  Thinking Green.  Outdoor Green.  Garden Green.…

We humans have a rather bizarre relationship with nature. We seek out nature to stroll, run, bike, rollerblade, climb, swim, skydive, surf, sail, commune, birdwatch, whalewatch, and stargaze, spending billions of dollars a year gearing up for and traveling to these activities. While there, we collect bugs, rocks, driftwood, fossils, counts of bird species, or, most commonly these days, photographs. Closer to home, we grow nature in our gardens, place it in pots that adorn our living spaces,…

Just before Christmas, Aurora's Brownie Troop made coupons as Christmas gifts for their mothers and fathers. The coupons read:

• This coupon entitles you to 1 big hug.
• This coupon entitles you to 1 set table: knives, forks, spoons, napkins and even beverages.
• This coupon entitles you to the last cookie, serving of ice cream, bit of chocolate milk,…

Arriving at our backyard “sit spot,” Jade and I didn’t have to wait long before the familiar chickadee duo appeared in a nearby thicket and began chirping happily. A male robin patrolling his territory wasn’t far behind, his pulsing crimson breast pumping out a gorgeous melody. Next to emerge, seemingly out of thin air, was a pair of song sparrows, who began a staccato of “seep-seep” calls. “I’m here.” “Yes, I’m here too.”

Suddenly, like a lighting strike, the calm morning…

Three years ago I was introduced to a wonderful holiday celebration. Stephen was attending a great preschool and the holiday season was approaching. Notices came home saying that a Winter Walk was planned and parents were invited to join in. During the weeks prior to the walk-date the children strung popcorn and cranberries, dried fruit slices, covered pinecones with peanut butter and…