10 ways to connect with nature in the city!
1. Invite native flora and fauna into your life: City version! Plant a window box with native species, keep an eye out for birds and insects at your window or on your street. What are other ways you can find native flora and fauna in the city?
2. Go on a nature scavenger hunt of your block! How many different birds do you see? Plants? Insects? Other types of nature?
3. Go camping in a city park! See if your city has a program for your family to spend a night under the stars in the city!
4. Participate in a community garden!
5. Adopt a family tree in your neighborhood! Do sketchings and rubbings. Collect leaves and take notes as it changes over time.
6. Do a sound inventory! How many different nature sounds can you identify? Use a smartphone app to test yourself! Take recordings of sounds to share with your friends and neighbors.
7. Stargaze! Take a walk around the city and search for the best place to see the stars. A great opportunity to discuss light pollution.
8. Use nature as art! Go on an urban hike and collect objects like rocks, leaves, and seeds and use them as stamps or trace them on paper.
9. Follow the creek! Find a creek and follow it through the city on an afternoon hike! See where it goes underground and try to find where it comes out!
10.Measure the sun! Use chalk to measure the sun on asphalt. Measure how its position changes over time and how it might be different on different days.