To our St. Clair Region communities,
Looking for some outdoor fun to do with your children, while also adhering to ‘social distancing’ practices? Our conservation educators are working on fun activities that you and your family can do during this time that will keep you connected to nature. Keep an eye out for our posts over the coming weeks!
See below, for some “Family Nature Fun” activities:
Our feathered friends will soon be building nests to start families of their own. Have you ever wondered how they do it? You could try to make your own nest using materials you find in your backyard! Head outside and collect some materials you think might work (e.g., grass, leaves, sticks) and see if you can shape a nest of your own. Don’t forget birds use mud to hold it all together! Can’t find any mud? You can make your own, by adding water to some dirt and mixing well. You can leave your nest in the sunshine to dry, but don’t be too disappointed if the birds don’t use it – they prefer to build their own!
Springtime is ‘mud-time’! This is a great time to find animal tracks in the mud. Even if we don’t see shy animals while walking trails, the tracks they leave behind (in the mud, or snow) can tell stories about what the animals have been doing. It’s hard to take an animal track home, but you can capture a track ‘forever’ by making a plaster cast! Follow these simple steps to make your own;
- Find an animal track in the mud or snow.
- Build a wall around the track (you can use dirt/mud, or a cardboard strip)
- Mix Plaster of Paris (1 part water with 2 parts plaster – it should be thick but easy to pour. Mix enough to fill the animal track, work quickly as plaster starts to harden in 10 minutes)
- Go for a walk! The plaster will need 30-60 minutes to set before you can move it. It can be hard to be patient, but if you move it too soon the cast will break!
- Dig the cast out (make sure to take some of the mud too, the cast will still be fragile and this will help)
- Let dry overnight
- Brush the extra dirt off. You can use a damp towel if needed.
Now you can paint your cast, or you could even use it to make new tracks of your own!!
With all the rain we have gotten over the last few days, why not try your hand at “mud art”. If you have mud and a sidewalk, you can create a MUDsterpiece! Has everything dried up? Mix soil and water to create some mud for spreading. Grab an old paintbrush and paint until your heart’s content! If you don’t have a paintbrush, a stick will do! If you’re feeling really ambitious you could colour your mud paint by adding red, blue or green tempera paint to your mixture!
Below is a list of things that animals might use in a make-believe world. Can you find real things in nature that could be used in these ways? (i.e., an upside-down acorn hat could be a bathtub for a bumblebee). Can you come up with your own examples?
Remember: Don’t pick any live plants and don’t hurt any creatures.
- A pillow for a snake
- Hat for a little bird
- Hairbrush for a squirrel
- Walking stick for a walking stick bug
- Fork for a bear
- Bowling ball for a frog
- Bookmark for a badger
- Surfboard for a snail
- Glue for a chipmunk
- Bathtub for a bumblebee
At this time of year, there are thousands of seeds just waiting to sprout! Here’s a super fun way to collect those seeds and see what you can get to grow. Find an old sock (an adult size works best) and put it on OVER your shoe! Then go for a hike through a field, or roadside, where lots of tall plants were growing last year. Bring the sock home, fill it with soil and then place in a warm, sunny spot & water it regularly. It won’t be long until you have little green seedlings sprouting up out of your sock!
Have you noticed how active (and noisy) our local birds have been lately? It’s a sure sign of spring! Why not try your hand at building your very own bird feeder? Try finding pinecones and fill them with peanut butter and birdseed! Or make a feeder out of an old milk carton! Either way, you’ll be sure to have plenty of our winged visitors to your yard! Make sure to keep your binoculars and bird identification guides handy!
Do you know what natural objects will sink or swim? Collect as many natural objects you can find in your yard (e.g., sticks, stones, mud, leaves, seeds, grass). Fill up a bucket and drop each item into the water. Before you drop, take a guess – Do you think it will sink or float (swim)? You might be surprised by some of the results!
Do you have old nature magazines or calendars laying around the house? Why not create a puzzle. Find a picture of an animal and glue to cardboard. Use a pen or marker to draw lines across the puzzle in different directions. Cut the picture into individual pieces and try to put back together (or challenge your parents or siblings to give it a try)! Don’t have a picture? Draw a nature scene yourself!
You may have a toad or 2 hiding in your yard! A great way to provide shelter is to cut a hole for a door in a plastic flower pot and turn it upside down in your garden. Cover your house with something heavy, like as a rock to keep it in place and add a bit of loose dirt around the outside for insulation (be careful not to cover the door).
Toads can grow to be 11 cm in length. They love to eat insects and slugs, which many gardeners consider to be pests. They have thick skin which helps to prevent dehydration and are often found in shaded forested areas as well as mowed grass and gardens. They will return to water to lay eggs, including the water laying on the cover of backyard swimming pools!
Send your kids on a Photo Scavenger Hunt! Give them a list or let them be creative!
Some ideas for scavenger hunt themes could be to photograph as many things as possible beginning with a certain letter of the alphabet, a specific colour, animal or plant type. Don’t know what you photographed? Try using Google to figure out what you’ve found!
Yes, water can be magical! Scientists call it ‘cohesion’! Try experimenting with water’s cohesive properties right in your own backyard! Find two leaves; now press them together. Do they stick? Likely not. Now try getting the leaves wet (dip them in a puddle, or bucket of water) and press them together. Do they stick? They magically do! Try this with any object you find outside (e.g. rocks, sticks, feathers, blades of grass, etc.! Can you guess why some stick together and others don’t?
If you have stones in your backyard, you can make music! Try banging two rocks together – they make a sound. If you use two different rocks, is the sound the same? Likely you’ll notice different rocks, different sizes, make different noises. See if you can make a song! If you only have small stones, you could put some in a jar or plastic container and make a rock rattle! ROCK ON!
How many of these items can you find? Take a picture to share with others. Put on your “detective glasses” and you might find other objects in nature, that you may have never noticed before. Remember to be kind to nature!
Thanks to the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority for sharing this great activity!
Have you ever seen Stonehenge? In a picture or in person? It’s a wonderfully large stone structure. You might not be able to build with stones THAT BIG, but rocks and stones make for great building blocks! Gather as many as you can and see what kind of structures you can create! There are some amazing balancing acts that can be done if you have some patience and persistence!
Did you know that you can use sunshine to paint a picture? All you need is a piece of coloured construction paper and some heavy objects (e.g., stones or toy blocks). Lay your paper outside in a sunny spot and place the stones or blocks on the paper. Try to make a pattern or a shape! Leave your creation in the sun for a few hours. You’ll need to practice patience! If you wait long enough, a picture will magically appear on the paper when you remove your stones and blocks! Thank you sunshine!
They fly, they buzz, and they can even light up! It’s no wonder most kids think bugs are cool! Take some time to observe the bugs in your backyard! Try looking for small critters with a magnifying glass. How many different coloured bugs can you find? How do they protect themselves (e.g., sting?) and how do they (or don’t they) work together to build a home?
Have you ever wondered why animals have such dull colours (e.g., brown and grey)? Why not orange, purple or white? It has to do with camouflage and being able to hide from other animals! You can try this out for yourself. You’ll need a sibling or a parent for this game. Hide two objects in your backyard. Make one of them a natural object, like a stone or a stick (something that’s dull in colour, just like the animals) and the second object something bright (e.g., small toy, ball). Can they find the hidden objects and which one did they find first? Take turns hiding objects and see if you can find the camouflaged items!
What some practice. Try and find the bird in the picture below? (PC – S. Nethercott)