Featured Blog Posts (310)

IditaNature is just around the corner - it starts Saturday, March 5, 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 ice cream,…

I am currently joining forces with Dr. Joe Baust of Murray State University to introduce his former Environmental Education students to the Children & Nature Network.  We are currently in the process of contacting his past EE students and encouraging them to become members of the Children & Nature Network.  We are hoping to expand this online community of people who share a passion for nature. 

I am very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the Children & Nature…

I recently got the chance to represent the Sierra Club Youth Delegation at the 2011 Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference in Washington D.C., February 7-10^th.  In preparation to speak on the panel entitled Sowing the Seeds for a Greener Future: Preparing Youth for a Green Economy, I started to reflect on what has given me the employment opportunities I’ve had so far in environmental-related…

I wanted to share this video titled Logos vs Leaves  from UNC-TV's Exploring North Carolina and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (via iTunes University). Middle school students, a North Carolina governor, a teacher and a camp director (Sandy…

Nevada gets kids outdoors with a Bill of Rights - here's the website: 

http://www.nvoutdoorkids.org/

And here's my take on it:

http://www.desertusa.com/dusablog/?p=2074

Enjoy!

In last week's Cast Your Vote, students chose the topic to focus on for this week.  The vote was overwhelmingly in  favor of learning about how the sled dogs communicate and work as a team.  We decided to consult an expert on this topic. . . so this week's Notes from the Trail is written from the perspective of Fennel the sled dog.

Bark bark.  Oh!  Excuse me.  I forgot that you don't speak dog.  Sorry about that.  Well, I am Fennel.  To find out more about me, check out my…

Photo by Peter Merts - Amazing volunteers from the GAP!

Volunteers from Barclays working hard on Nature Circle Card Sets!…

Those of us operating in relation to Park and Rec facilites with ample outdoor features are often lucky enough to get to see how kids thrive and grow through playful interaction with nature and each other.

Though, as we know only too well, most children aren’t getting outdoors enough, and that is creating a “play (as well as nature) deficit.”

Next week, a couple of hundred experts gather at Clemson University to explore the distinctive value of play.

The Conference on…

Greetings from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada! We arrived just a couple of days ago. Ellen, Van, Dave, and I spent ten days driving all the way from Minnesota. We hauled our twelve sled dogs, two sleds, plus most of our food and dog food in a big trailer. Ten days on the road might seem like a long time, but really all of the planning and preparation for this trip took much longer.

About a year ago we began to research our route and contact people living and traveling in…

World Wetlands Day - Wetlands and Forests

This is the theme for World Wetlands Day 2011, especially chosen because 2011 is the UN International Year of Forests.

To celebrate World Wetlands Day - I am giving away FREE copies of Nika And The Painted Turtle

Just leave a comment below and I'll send you your FREE ebook.

We…

For any of you who are looking for an approach to photography that focuses on slowing down and observing the natural world around us from a new perspective, Chris Orwig has a fantastic book called Visual Poetry (2010, New Riders). Freeman Patterson called photography the "art of seeing" and Dorothea Lange gave a wonderful description of  the camera as  "a tool for learning how to see without a camera".  Chris Orwig carries on where they left off, and provides a wonderful…

I always appreciate when friends send me links to articles relevant to our program, and to encouraging people to slow down and take notice of the world around us. This one was sent from a friend in Vancouver, and it resonates with our philosophy at Focus on Nature, and with the movement to nurture the child-nature connection. It's a reminder that when we're trying to engage kids (or adults) in exploring the natural world through photography, the focus should be on awakening their senses and…

Sunny 92.3 FM in Chattanooga reported this on their morning show:

Research shows that 19 percent of children ages 2-5 know how to use a Smartphone, but only 9 percent can tie their shoes, and more children…

What is considered to be too cold for recess in Canada and the US differs from state to province. On our Facebook page, we had one mom reporting in Texas that kids are watching cartoons at their school when it is 15°C (59°F) outside because it is too cold. Then we have schools in Canada and the US that are outside when it –20°C (-4°F). …

Chat overheard near the Veterans Park Croquet area, Delray Beach, FL:

A wee girl flatly stated to her new student, "Be careful, sometimes I forget my sippy-cup on the grass."

The eldster student, securing his cup's lid, replied, "I've done that before."

The embolden girl whispered conspiratorially, "Also, I get sooo excited playing, I forget to go to the…