ENDANGERED NATURE ACTIVITY RESCUE GUIDE

ENDANGERED NATURE ACTIVITY RESCUE GUIDE 1

Do you remember climbing trees as a child? What about scavenger hunts, skimming stones or making daisy chains and mud pies? Believe it or not, many kids today have never experienced these timeless childhood activities. Due to safety concerns, time-poor parents, and the lure of television and computer games, unstructured outdoor play is now endangered in Australia and at risk of becoming extinct. We need to rescue these activities for the sake of our kids!

Not only is unstructured outdoor play fun for kids, it helps develop physical and mental skills, promotes health and wellbeing, and teaches kids valuable lessons in everything from maths to assessing risk. They’ll also develop a deeper appreciation of nature and a desire to care for it as they grow up.

So help save these outdoor activities from extinction by letting your kids get a dose of nature everyday.

DO A BUG COUNTThis is pretty much a scavenger hunt, except it’s all about creepy crawlies! Draw two columns on a piece of paper. In one column, list the bugs you are likely to find in the garden, park or beach, e.g. ants, lady beetles, worms, lizards, snails, butterflies, spiders, bees, crabs and jellyfish. Leave the other column blank so your child can write in how many of each creepy crawly they find.

BENEFITS Develops identification and categorisation skills, basic maths skills such as numeracy and addition, and knowledge of the natural world.

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CLIMB A TREE This is a pretty simple activity – just find a tree with strong branches and let the kids climb it!

BENEFITS Develops physical strength, coordination, balance, problem solving skills (i.e. should I go this way or that way?), confidence and risk assessment skills.

GO ON A NATURE SCAVENGER HUNTCreate a list of natural items for your child to hunt out, then head to the yard, park or beach. Start simple with things like rocks, seedpods, leaves, sticks, feathers, shells, flowers and so on. Then make it bit more complex to get them thinking, e.g. “something soft”, “something the size of your thumbnail” or “something green”.

BENEFITS Develops identification and categorisation skills, knowledge of the natural world and creativity.

Photo: Annetta Bosakova

GROW A GARDENGardening is an amazing activity that gets kids’ hands into the ground – and dirty! Plant a vegetable garden, involve your child in regular garden maintenance or grow herbs on a balcony or windowsill. To take it a bit further, get them to draw or photograph the plants at their different stages of development.

BENEFITS Develops an understanding of food production, cooking and healthy eating, fosters a sense of responsibility, achievement and patience, develops basic biology knowledge and observation and measuring skills, and helps build immunity.

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GO ON A BUSHWALKFind a bit of bush and go for a walk – it doesn’t matter whether it’s a national park, state park, or reserve. Just find some trees and go for a wander, play hide and seek or chase, or do a scavenger hunt.

BENEFITS Promotes physical activity, reduces stress, restores concentration.

GO CAMPINGCamping is a wonderful opportunity to really immerse your child in nature. You can start off in a backyard and build up to a national or state park. Incorporate a scavenger hunt, bug count and star gazing.

BENEFITS Promotes physical activity, develops skills in problem solving (e.g. choosing a tent site, putting the tent up, choosing the right wood for the fire) and risk assessment.

Photo: Sandra Moloney

SKIM STONESStone skimming is a skill that every child should master! Find smooth, flat and oval-shaped stones with a bit of weight that fit comfortably in the palm. Then skim the stone across the surface of the water so it bounces as many times as possible.

BENEFITS Promotes physical activity, develops motor skills, persistence and confidence, develops an understanding of basic physics principles such as mass, force and speed.

MAKE A DAISY CHAINAll you need is a patch of daisies and some patience! Pick daisies with thick, long stems and open flowers. With your thumbnail, make a small slit in the bottom of one of the daisies, being careful not to go all the way to the bottom. Thread the stem of another daisy through the slit. Keep threading with subsequent daisies until you’re happy with the length of your chain. Then make a small slit at the top of the first daisy stem and thread the stem of the last daisy through that. Wear the chain as a necklace, bracelet or crown.

BENEFITS Develops fine motor skills, patience and creativity.

HOLD A LEAF BOAT RACEFind a shallow creek with flowing water and some curled leaves or seedpods that resemble a boat. Mark the finishing line with a stick or stone, put the boats in the water at the same time and see which one wins! Try different shapes and sizes to see which ones go faster and maybe have your child add a mast and sail (using twigs and leaves) and some cargo (using small pebbles or seedpods).

BENEFITS Develops fine motor skills and an understanding of basic physics principles, such as the properties of different materials.

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Photo: Carla Brown/NWF

LOOKING FOR MORE?These are just some of the hundreds of simple activities you can do with your kids to ensure they (and you!) get a dose of everyday nature. Lying on the grass and finding pictures in the clouds, having a picnic at the park, building sandcastles, watching the moon, exploring rock pools, or simply pointing out birds and trees will all tune your child into the natural world.

Aim for 30 minutes of nature time every day and both you and your child will be happier and healthier. You’ll also be helping to save outdoor activities loved by generations of children!

One of the best ways to get some everyday nature is to participate in Planet Ark’s National Tree Day - at home, school or work.

RESEARCH Planet Ark has produced a number of reports investigating the dramatic changes to children’s play in recent decades, as well as the many health and wellbeing benefits of regular contact with nature.

LET US KNOW We’d love to hear how you or your kids are going getting a dose of everyday nature. Send us a message or post an image on our Facebook page using #everydaynature and we’ll share it as an inspiration to others.

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MAKE A FLOWER PRESSPressed flowers last forever and are a beautiful keepsake for your child. Get your child to pick flowers and leaves and place them on the inside fold of a sheet of newspaper (make sure the flowers aren’t overlapping). Put the newspaper in the middle of a large, heavy book (like a phone book) and place other heavy objects on top. The flowers will dry out in about 3 days and can then be glued into a notebook or used to decorate a card, box or book cover.

BENEFITS Develops fine motor skills, patience and creativity.

MAKE A MUD PIEKids love playing in the dirt and what better way to get both dirty and creative than by making mud pies! Have your child find dirt that is free of sand, rocks and pebbles and place it in a small bucket with water. Get them to mix it with their hands until the mud is the consistency of bread dough. They can then roll the mud into balls, flatten them down, then decorate them with sticks, stones and flowers or by drawing on them.

BENEFITS Develops fine motor skills and creativity, and helps build immunity.