It‘s a good idea to bring awareness of Nature to children and all those around you. There are several ways to enhance awareness of environmental matters in ways that kids can understand. This post explores different ways in which educators and parents can improve environmental consciousness.
Visit a National Park
Visiting national parks with your kids and friends is a great activity which can not only be a exploration but an educational venture. A hike or a walk in these parks is such an excellent way to get to see all the naturally growing trees and the animals that live in those designated areas. You can let them tell what kind or types of animals and plants they have seen.
Begin a Garden at Home
If you plant either vegetables or flowers in your home garden, you can have your kids and other family members help you harvest. Spending time together on the outdoor garden can be an excellent opportunity to let them see how the environment ought to be taken care of.
From sowing seeds to watering and pruning the plants, you can demonstrate the safe and effective methods used to raise strong and healthy plants. It’s important to let them do a lot of the work and understand how by taking care of the plants, they will reap the rewards – the fruit or vegetables that the plant’s yield.
Promote Energy Awareness
Many young children may not have had the opportunity to learn that electricity is a resource much like water. So, it should be conserved at all times. You can leverage online resources on teaching kids how power is a resource that ought to be preserved as we rely on it for so many day-to-day activities.
Bird Watching
You can attract some birds to your home by putting seeds on your patio, deck, balcony or the back step. You will notice that different kinds of birds come to feed on them. Also, by making a bird feeder with some peanut butter and pine cones to attract the local birds, you make your kids feel appreciative of nature.
Find Books about the Environment
This is simple. Visit a local library. Look for books aimed towards youth of children that address climate changes, weather patterns and environmental changes. Since ancient times, the sun and moon patterns have been followed and children can learn how to tell the time by the position of the sun, what stars are in the sky and how to tell directions using star patterns.
They can also learn about our environment, energy production, air quality, weather patterns, ocean behavior and so much more. It’s great to teach kids about nature, plants, animals and the environment. The more they know, the more respect they will have for it and its relation to them and their family.
Explore Geology in your Neighborhood
If you are fortunate enough to live in a unique area where there are geological patterns, cliffs, mountains or any other rocks, you can show children the different types of geological formations around them. You can show them different resources including rocks used to make fuel (like coal), those used to make tools, elements used in steel, and much more depending on your area. There is even a cliff face in Colorado called Red Rocks that contributes to the actual sound of music and sold out concerts are the norm.
Conclusion
Most would agree that the more you know, the more you can do. Every day, we, as a society, get closer and closer to automation and technology. It’s great to break free of that, if only for a day, and explore nature. Get out there and look around, smell the air, listen to the birds, feel the sun. If you can experience nature in any capacity, you should. It doesn’t have to be every day but every so often.
There’s nothing quite like it. And there’s nothing quite like a nice stroll through a path in the forest or a climb up a hill. It’s great exercise and you can learn so much by just exploring. Mother Nature is there to experience, you just have to get out there and visit her.