Category: Eli Schaffer

It’s 4 am and the window you left open to bring in some fresh spring air while you slept is now ushering in a…

Birding is a fantastic way to bring a little direction and purpose to a nature exploration, wherever you choose to explore from. With instantly recognizable backyard favorites and rare neo-tropical migrants alike, birds offer so much to look at, to talk about and to discover. It won’t take long before you begin to notice distinct personalities and signature behaviors.

With a recent flood of scientific studies and news coverage detailing the effects a changing climate has had and will have on wildlife, the economy, national security and quality of life, climate is a topic that is now impossible to avoid. For grade-school aged children, the science can be confusing and the headlines can be anxiety-inducing. As parents, teachers and caregivers, it is incumbent upon us to create a context for youth to understand what is going on in a developmentally appropriate way.

As parents and teachers, we have the responsibility of keeping our children safe, however, eliminating the possibility of risk as opposed to the presence of danger can rob a child of the critical ability to differentiate between a risk to be overcome through skill development and a danger to be avoided.

Finding evidence of animal behavior is an easy way to practice the scientific method through a fun and engaging activity outdoors. There are tracks and traces to be found all year, but winter offers the advantages of snow and some special animal behavior that makes track and trace hunts even more interesting. Don’t forget that spending time together outdoors can happen any time of year.