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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a proud member of the Children and Nature Network.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has joined with the rest of the Department of Interior to tell America:
Get Outdoors, It's Yours!
www.getoutdoorsitsyours.gov
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Welcome
A Prescription for Healthy Kids
Being outside is healthy and fun!
Credit: USFWS
Getting children outside is not just fun and games. Their health may depend on it.
By Kyla Hastie and Shani Howard
For many parents, some of our best childhood memories are of the outdoors. Whether it was playing neighborhood freeze tag, building a fort in the nearby vacant lot, splashing around in a creek, or riding our bike to the park, most of us had a lot of fun playing outside. Our formative years consisted of hours of unstructured, outdoor play.
But today’s children will have very different childhood memories. Learn More
Hands-on, Ears-on, Nose-on
Children from Washington, D.C. participate in a summer GeoCamp at the National Wildlife Visitor Center, Patuxent Research Refuge, in Maryland. (Credit: USFWS)
Urban children learn about wildlife and nature at National Wildlife Refuges across the country.
By Karen Leggett
Jane Lane first walks into classrooms in Dorchester and Worcester, Massachusetts, carrying skulls and pelts of deer and raccoon. By the time this volunteer urban educator sees the children later at the Eastern Massachusetts Refuge Complex, she says, “they are over-the-top with excitement to begin their explorations.” The complex hosts 130 third graders three times each school year. Learn More
Explore your neighborhood
Hi Kids,
Ask your parents or guardians for permission to join our new club called Neighborhood Explorers. It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s fun! It is an exciting new website designed just for you. By playing Neighborhood Explorers on your computer, you will learn new skills that will help you explore nature in your own backyard and neighborhood. >
On line, you’ll meet Lucy, Steve and Mia who will take you on exciting adventures and teach you cool things about nature - - like growing a “pizza” garden or seeing birds that only come out at night! When you use your new skills to explore outside, you’ll discover many new things about nature which are found all around you everyday! You can report back to the website what you find.
As club members, you will earn points and cool virtual patches after completing activities on line and going outside. There are different levels you can earn – bronze, silver and gold. Everyday there are new adventures to discover on-line and outside in your own neighborhood! So, let’s go outside and explore nature – there is so much to see and do!
Learn More
Nature Fortune Teller
This is a screen shot of the activity
Click on this link for some 'fortune teller' fun! Playing with it with your friends and family is a cool way to get some neat ideas on ways to explore nature. Stop, Look, Listen and Discover! Have fun!
Treasure Hunting
Geocaching—a new-age combination of orienteering and hide-and-seek—gets families around the world out and hiking together.
By Kathleen M. Reilly
Janell Lovelace’s three-year old son, Bram, is an experienced treasure hunter. And we’re not just talking pretend treasures, either. Bram hikes through forests and down trails until his parents’ Global Positioning System (GPS) lets his family know they’re getting close to the treasure they’re seeking. Once they’re close enough, Bram rummages among the fallen leaves and peers into tree stumps, until—eureka! Hidden treasure! Learn More
Green Hour
Give our children a "Green Hour" a day
National Wildlife Federation (NWF) recommends giving our children a "Green Hour®" a day -- a bit of time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. By doing so, we can set them on the path toward physical, mental, and emotional well-being. At GREENHOUR.ORG, you'll find inspiration and ideas to get your kids (and you!) outside.
This content-rich, family friendly website hosts a supportive virtual community where parents can learn, explore, and share their outdoor experiences and backyard adventures. Each week a fresh issue is published full of activities, book recommendations, tips and information to help guide the exploration and focus on fun. You’ll also find a weekly blog post and podcast to help keep you informed and connected. Evergreen material includes a Parents’ Guide, activity downloads, and materials to help you share the Green Hour message. The NatureFind tool allows you to find green spaces and nature-related events in your area simply by typing in your zip code.
Give Your Child a Gift That Will Last A Lifetime
Pass on Your Love of the Outdoors
When you take a child fishing, hunting or camping, you open up a world of wonder. Time shared in the woods or on the water builds a child’s bond with nature – and with you. When you teach a child how to cast a line, pitch a tent, or stalk a deer, you create special memories, pass on a tradition of respect for the outdoors and America’s wild places, and strengthen young bodies and minds. Statistics show that children who regularly engage in outdoor recreation are healthier, happier, and do better in school.
This holiday season, give your child a lasting gift. Get out there. Together.
Published in the Anchorage Daily News December 23, 2007
Young People Can Do Green Things
Students gather outside of the visitor’s center at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.
Credit: USFWS
Bringing thirty or so teenagers together in one place creates as much energy as a wildfire, but when you select the best, brightest and most enthusiastic ones, that “wildlife” creates its own weather, so to speak. And so it did at the first ever Youth Forum for the Environment held April 18 - 20, 2008 at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.
By Dennis Prichard
Learn More
Weird & Wonderful Wildlife Poster
A Poster of Weird and Wonderful Wildlife
What does a Black Warrior waterdog look like? How about a fine-lined pocketbook or spectacled eider? Weird & Wonderful Wildlife, the Endangered Species Program's poster for kids and the young at heart, answers these questions and more. The free poster features 14 strangely-named or otherwise unusual plant and animal species. Most are endangered or threatened, and several are candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Inspired by their names, fanciful artwork illustrates what you might imagine the species to look like. The other side features photos of the same species with some fun facts.
Learn More
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