This spring of 2010 and on-going, we will start our Nature Study program. I plan to take lots of nature walks, hikes, and join our local Butterfly Pavilion. This page will get more organized as I figure out how best to implement a nature study program. For now, it is mostly my random thoughts.
We live in the Rocky Mountains and are surrounded by nature. We live on six acres of land, with a mountain stream on one side and the other side adjacent to a national forest. We’re an hour away from Rocky Mountain National Park. Down the mountain are great nature places such as the Butterfly Pavilion, great birdwatching areas, and so much more.
For each nature walk, we will take:
- Camera (both mom and daughter)
- Nature Drawing Journal (includes envelopes/baggies for collecting t hings like leaves, pressed flowers)
- Pencil, colored pencils, sharpener
- Binoculars
- A few field guides depending on what we are focusing on that day’
- Day pack with the normal things we’d take on a hike – water, jacket, snack, whistle, etc…
Nature Books
- Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
- Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You by Clare Walker Leslie
- Drawn to Nature Through the Journals of Clare Walker Leslie by Claire Walker Leslie
- My Nature Journal: A Personal Nature Guide for Young People by Adrienne Olmstead
- The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
- A Pocketful of Pinecones: Nature Study With the Gentle Art of Learning: A Story for Mother Culture by Karen Andreola
- Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
- Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Bharat Cornell
- Sharing Nature With Children III by Joseph Bharat Cornell
Internet Links
Online Nature Guides
Birds
- All About Birds
- WhatBird – bird identification guide, North America
- eNature
- Great Backyard Bird Count
Animals
Insects
- Insect and Spider Identification – detailling North American insects
Fauna – Plants/Trees/Flowers/etc
- Field Guides – search more than 5,500 plants and animals, listen to bird calls
- Birding section
- Identify Mammal Tracks
- Fun and Games
- Much more
Discovery Life – Identification guides and checklists of plants and animals
Other Thoughts
I want to build a trail to meander through our property. Here’s some links for ideas:
Setting up birdhouses along trail
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