Thursday, April 7, 2011

Go green - get outside!


Studies show that spending time outdoors sparks creativity, promotes health and fitness, adn can even help kids do better in school. Here are some fun ways to get your family outside and into the fresh air.

Discover a Hidden World! Spark your family's natural curiousity with this idea from "Last Child in the Woods" author Richard Louv. Cover a patch of dirt with a board, wait a couple of days, then lift it up to see how many species are living underneath it. Return periodically to find out what's new.

Make a Nature Map. Take a series of walks through your neighborhood to observe your surroundings. When you're back home, see which family member can draw the most accurate map using natural landmarks only - a stream, a field of wildflowers, a fallen tree, etc.

Go Letterboxing. This increasingly populr activity turns a walk in the woods into a treasure hunt. Participants print a list of clues from such websites as letterboxing.org, then use those clues to find one of thousands of letterboxes hidden in outdoor locations around the country.

Explore Nature at Night. Seeing the world in a new light - moonlight! - is an eye-opening experience that can hook a kid on the outdoors for life. You can look for plants or insects that glisten or glow in the evening light, listen for animals, or just stare at the stars. Go to stardate.org for stargazing tips and to learn when there's a full moon.

Volunteer for a Cause. Researchers natoinwide depend on citizen scientists (often volunteers with no formal training) to help collect data about the natural world. These volunteers might keep tabs on birds for Project Pigeon Watch or planting flowers to get the buzz on bees for the Great Sunflower Project. To find a study near you, go to scienceforcitizens.net or sas.org.


Article courtesy of Family Fun Magazine; photo credit: graur razvan ionut and freedigitalphotos.net.

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