Get kids excited about exploring the great outdoors with a range of nature activities
1. Seed bombs
Mix together one cup of seeds with five cups of peat-free compost and two or three cups of clay powder (found in craft shops). Keep adding water until you can mould the mixture into golf ball-sized balls. Leave to dry in a warm spot before throwing them in your desired location.
2. Nature pictures - animals
Take a part of your nature adventures home. Use a paper plate with double-sided tape to collect fallen leaves and flowers to create your own picture, or sketch a creature and re-create at home.
Create your own leaf pictures
3. Nature bingo
Before your walk, brainstorm ideas about the sort of things you would like to see, or find images online to print out, making each player's card slightly different. When you go out on your adventures, see who can complete their card first.
4. Bee hotels
Help support the bee and bug population, by giving them a DIY home. Collect a selection of bamboo canes and straws, bundle them together with some string and fix into the bottom of a pot with a bit of modelling clay. Place the pot horizontally, in a quiet place outside, ready for the bees to move in.
Make a bee hotel
5. Leaf crowns
Build your own leaf crown. Start your adventure with a strip of paper and some double-sided sticky tape. As you go exploring, collect as many different leaves as you can, to build a crown fit for royalty. To finish, simply tape the ends together and wear with pride.
6. Magic pictures
On your nature walk, make rubbings of different textures, such as bark or the veins of leaves, using some plain paper and a white wax crayon. When you are home, paint over the page with watercolour paint and watch your magic picture appear before your eyes.
7. Feed the birds
Recycle a plastic drink bottle (2 litre works best); cut a 8-10cm wide hole in the side and prick a couple of holes in the bottom of the bottle for drainage. Fill the bottle with bird food and seeds and hang it in a tree.
Make a bird feeder
8. Pressed flowers
Collect petals, flowers and leaves that have fallen, spread them out over a newspaper, place another piece of paper over the top and a heavy book or two on top of that. After a week, your petals and flowers are ready to use.
Create a pressed flower mobile
9. Twig pen pots
Collect fallen sticks and twigs that are roughly the same size. On your pot, apply a layer of natural, non-toxic glue and stick the sticks around the side of the pot, taking care to keep the ends level, so the pot can stand. Once the sticks are dry, tie with ribbon or string to secure them in place.
10. Nature diary
Over the holidays, why not create a nature diary - a place to show off the pressed flowers you have discovered, draw the animals you have seen and record the different types of plants you have come across. Did you go on holiday? Are these plants different to the ones in your garden? Go wild with your diary and when it's complete you'll be able to look back and see all you have discovered.
Make your own diary
You might also be interested in...
About the author – Jenn Wheatley
RHS Digital Assistant, Jenn, has worked with children for 13 years and is currently a Beaver Scout Leader.
