June 2020
By Kirsten Dallimore, Sierra Club BC Environmental Educator

I am pleased to announce that summer has officially arrived! It is time to start preparing for a happy, healthy and creative season.  

These past few months have been a very challenging time for everyone. What is clear though is that spending time outside is safe and will greatly support your immune system, physical and mental health. I encourage all of you to support yourself, your family and friends through outdoor exploration and learning this summer season. Please remember to follow COVID-19 physical distancing guidelines by following the evolving public health guidelines in your community.  

Nature is a place of healing and learning, and is full of potential for incredible adventures. There are so many wonderful ways to appreciate the local ecosystems close to home and connect more deeply with nature. Perhaps you like to go to the beach or spend time at the lake swimming or fishing. You may enjoy visiting the ocean and doing some tidepool exploration. Maybe you appreciate hiking in a forest or relaxing while having a picnic under the shade of the trees. Getting into the garden and spending time tending to fruits, vegetables and flowers is also a wonderful activity to connect with place and produce local food.  

Consider how different activities support your connection to a local place in different ways. Nature is our home that we share with all of the other living beings and we need to find ways to live in balance with them. 

I personally will be out this summer enjoying activities close to home such as packrafting on the local Gorge waterway, going for hikes in the CRD regional parks and exploring tidepools at the beaches here on Vancouver Island. I encourage all of you to take the time to find your favourite local nature spots. 

To support you through your explorations and learning, I have put together a list of 10 activities with links to materials you can easily print, watch or listen to with your kids. These will expand your awareness and open up your senses while out on your nature journeys this summer. 

Here are 10 fun ways to connect with the natural world: 

1. Love to sing and want to connect with nature through music? Check out the Lyrics to Gathering Songs shared by the Fresh Air Learning School.  
2. Explore plants, animals, trees, amphibians and reptiles this summer with your kids by printing and filling out the Green Space Exploration Journal.
3. Make the Sit Spot activity part of your family’s daily routine in developing a deeper connection to place. Click on the Sit Spot activity sheet and video to learn how!  
4. Take a walk along the beach to observe local seaweed! Print and bring along the Marine Exploration Seaweed guide with you on your adventures to support your identification of marine seaweed and plants.  
5. Grab a hat, sunscreen and binoculars (if you own a pair) and head out for some bird watching. Print and bring along the Bird Scavenger Hunt to help guide you in observing birds in your local environment.  
6. Develop your sense of touch and smell by playing the Nature Memory Game in a yard or local park.  
7. Owls have amazing vision! Try expanding your own field of vision by using your Owl Eyes to observe your surroundings. Watch this fun Owl Eyes video to guide your experience and use the Owl Eyes Activity Booklet to record your observations.  
8. Head out to a natural place to explore the variety of life. Have fun completing the nature scavenger hunt appropriate for your child’s age. Remember to take only memories and leave only footprints. This is an observational activity and you don’t need to collect what you observe. Check out: Hunt for Biodiversity (Kindergarten), Hunt for Biodiversity (Grade 1-2) and Hunt for Biodiversity (Grade 3-5) 
9. Learn how to make your very own hummingbird feeder and support local pollinators in their journey. 
10. Make the time and space for your child to share daily nature stories. Take a small anecdote from your experience in nature and then share it with a friend or family member. Share the story using all your senses. Describe to them what you were seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling on your skin and what you felt in your heart while out in nature. Maybe you even tasted something like berries. You can also record your anecdote by writing it down or capturing a moment through a photo or drawing.  

I wish you all the best this summer and I look forward to hearing your summer nature stories and how you engaged with these activities. 

We love hearing from you! Share your nature stories and experiences with the Sierra Club BC Education Team at education@sierraclub.bc.ca