Sharing Nature with yourGrandchildren

Enjoyable activitiesfor all ages

“Young NaturalistsObserve and Conserve”

How about a gift membership in the

YOUNG NATURALISTS’ CLUBof British Columbia for your

grandchildren?

You can go with them on monthlyExplorer Days to discover nature in

your neighbourhood.

One year family membership is:

$25.00

and includes the YNC ‘s magazineNatureWILD

The only quarterly publication for children that focuses on the environment

and wildlife of BC.

Download a membershipapplication from our website

www.ync.ca or pick up a brochure in the office.

YOUNG NATURALISTS’ CLUBof British Columbia

1620 Mt. Seymour RoadNorth Vancouver, BC, V7G 2R9

Email: info@ync.ca

BEFORE YOU START

Unless your activity is taking place in the garden, you will need:

1. A Day PackWith children you will need a few basic supplies. Your day pack should always include:

* Something to eat – snacks or a packed lunch depending on the outing.

* Drinking water

* Small First Aid Kit

* Camera

* Binoculars

* Magnifying glass

* Cell phone

* Paper hankies or toilet paper

* Coins for bus or parking

Then, depending on the time of year, age of child and other circumstances:

* Sunscreen and/or bug repellent

* Hat

* Underpants

* Extra jacket (young children can get very cold if they aren’t moving very fast.)

* Pocket knife

* Walking stick

2. A PlanCheck the weather forecast. If rain is a possibility bring a lightweight poncho that can go over a jacket. A wet child is a miserable child.

Make sure everyone has sturdy footwear – sneakers not sandals.Have the child(ren) help in preparations. This generates its own excitement and builds the feeling of being a ‘team’.

Plan how long you will be out. Start with short outings, work up to longer ones.

Be considerate of parents’ feelings. Say how long you will be gone, when you expect to return (and come back on time – that way you will be popular all round).

IN THE GARDENDid you know that there is more life and biodiversity below ground than above it? Thousands of small organisms or ‘mini beasts’ live, on or under the soil.

Mini-beast hunt:

Hunt around the garden with your magnifying glasses and a clear plastic container with lid to temporarily hold your finds. Look for worms, pill bugs, millipedes, spiders, ants, slugs, snails, caterpillars, nematodes, ladybugs, aphids. You may see wasps and bees - don’t try to capture them!

Handle mini-beasts gently as you put them in the container as many are very fragile. (Remember where you found them, and put them back there. They may have family waiting!)

As you find the creatures examine them carefully with the magnifier. There will be lots to discuss as you carefully observe the mini-beasts. It would be great if you could take notes and/or if you have a guide to identify and name your garden’s wildlife.

Questions to ask about the mini-beasts.

• Whatisitshabitat(wheredidyoufindit- on a leaf, under a piece of rotting wood?)

• Whatcolourandshapeisthebody?Isitall one piece or segmented (more than one piece). Is the head large or small? Does it have antenna?

• Doesithavewings?Howmany?

• Howmanylegs(ifany)?Aretheyjointedlike yours? Does it have hairs on its body?

• Whatelseisspecialordifferentabout this mini-beast?

This activity might lead to your setting up an ant farm or worm composter.

To find out more about life in the garden, you can build a simple pitfall trap. Most books of nature activities will have the instructions - you should be able to find a book at the local library.

GOING TO THE PARKALONG THE WAY

Play ‘I SPY’ but stick to objects in nature - birds, trees, insects, etc. For smaller children you can ‘spy’ colour, shape, etc. Example: “I spy something square “(nest box), “something that is crawling” (ant) and so on.

WHEN YOU REACH YOUR DESTINATION

Use your senses

Sight: Take turns telling what you can see - from up in the air to down on the ground.

Touch: Rub your hands together until they are hot and tingly; feel the heat energy between yourpalms.Feelthebarkofdifferenttrees. Howmanydifferentkindsofbarkcanyoufind?

Smell: Smellthebark-dodifferenttreeshave differentscents?Smellleaves.Sniffthemoss.Shut your eyes - what else can you smell?

Hearing: Block your ears for a moment and release. Then listen. What can you hear? Cup your hands behind your ears , making ‘deer ears’ Can you hear better? Turn around slowly, catch more sounds.

Taste: If it is raining, taste a raindrop. If on the beach, taste the seawater. Otherwise, wait until snack time for tasting!

Natural Treasures HuntIf you, the grandparent, are familiar with the park, organize a `natural treasures hunt`. Depending on the season, the kind of park and age of children, set them to look for such things as a tree stump, a nurse log, a beaver lodge, a blackberry patch, a nest or nest hole, a nest box (swallows, wood ducks, bats), a tree with blossoms or berries, sapsucker holes, a heron in the marsh or on a tree, other birds (crows, chickadees, pigeons, robins). Or make a leaf collection (only one leaf from each plant!)

AT THE SEASHOREAt the seashore one hardly needs to encouragechildren to explore, but once again it adds to thefun to set out to discover a multitude ofdifferentorganismsbeyondcrabs.

Finding crab shells. Smell it - if it smells bad, it’s just a dead crab. If it smells OK, check out the back, upper edge of the crab’s shell. If it opens like the lip on a garbage can, it is a shell the crab has moulted as it grew bigger.

In tide pools, look for anemones, sea stars and little fish. On a rocky beach look for shells -mussels, clams, oysters, limpets, barnacles,periwinkles, bristle worms, sand hoppers, manytypes of seaweed including sea lettuce androckweed (that you can pop).

Best time to visit - low tides during June.

A wonderful resource is the waterproof pamphlet “Explore the Rocky Shore at Stanley Park” applicable to any rocky shore and available at the YNC office, Lost Lagoon Nature House and the Aquarium.

EXPLORING PONDS AND MARSHESWetland areas teem with life also - aquaticcreatures live above, below and beside ponds. A fine mesh net from a dollar store or homemade from a wire coat hanger and a piece of stocking will do to catch creatures. A zip-lockplastic bag makes a fine temporary aquarium tostudy the creatures more closely. Ensure thatchildren understand all creatures must bereturned to their habitats.

Remember ‘sedges have edges, reeds areround’.Discoverthedifference!Atthesametime have the children hunt for discarded casesof dragonfly nymphs that are left clinging toplants at the waters edge. These you can takehome for a more detailed look.