Low Cost Ways to Bring More Nature into Your Life

In our busy lives, even if we are nature lovers, it isn't always easy to make time for the natural world. The depressed economy and skyrocketing cost of fuel can put even low-budget camping trips out of financial reach for many. Good news! There are many easy, fun and inexpensive activities that can provide a dose of quality time with the great outdoors.

1. Go for a Walk in the Woods
(Cost: Free or Cheap)
If you own neighborhood isn't woodsy enough, many cities, counties and states have parks and trails that you can use for free or for a small fee. It's likely that there is one of these public resources not far from you. Just hop on the internet to make sure that you are aware of all of the resources in your area.

Tip: If you are interested in learning more about nature, rather than just soaking it up, bring some binoculars and a couple pocket field guides with you. One on birds and one on trees or flowers would be good choices. Having more acquaintances in the natural world will help you feel more at home whenever you venture out of doors.

2. Visit a Nature Center or Botanic Garden
(Cost: Free, Cheap or Moderate, depending on fees and size of your group)
Many cities have a nature center or botanical garden to offer. These are great places to bring a picnic, and spend the day exploring or relaxing in the shade with a good book. These types of facilities usually have education centers and offer, for a fee, day camps for kids and classes for all ages.

Tip: A great way to enjoy nature centers and botanic gardens for free is to become a volunteer. These places operate largely on docent laborers of love. Even by donating a few hours of your time each month, you can usually get free access anytime, as well as discounts for your family.

3. Go to the Zoo!
(Cost: Free, Cheap or Moderate, depending on fees and size of your group)
These modern day arcs allow us to meet, in person, creatures that we would never have otherwise seen outside of the TV or computer screen. Like Nature Centers and Botanic Gardens, Zoological Parks typically have similar education facilities and classes. See the website of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to learn more about the zoos in your area.

If you are not a fan of zoos because of the very unnatural environment that animals are sometimes kept in, the best thing that you can do is to become involved with your zoo, rather than eschewing it. Become a volunteer, go to the board meetings, or help raise funds! These are much more effective vehicles for change than is a boycott.

Tip: Make your trip to the zoo more engaging for your family by turning it into a scavenger hunt of sights. Look the zoo up online and make some index cards with pictures and descriptions of certain animals. See who is first to spot each of the creatures featured.

4. Adopt a Piece of Nature
(Cost: Free, Cheap or Moderate, depending on what you choose to do)
There are many things that you can do to make the natural world a better place.

Adopt a Highway: Volunteer to clean up the litter from a stretch of highway.

Adopt a Zoo Animal: For a specific donation, most zoos allow you to adopt an entire animal or to be a co-adopter, with others, for a lower cost. The zoo then provides you with periodic information and updates on your animal.

Adopt an Acre: The Nature Conservancy has a very successful program through which you can adopt an acre of endangered rain forest. For a fee you get updates on the region that you are protecting and a membership in the conservancy.

5. Create Your Own Nature
(Cost: Cheap to Moderate)
Whether you have a large yard or a small balcony, you can begin to bring more nature into your home life. In an outdoor area, grow some native plants that provide shelter or food for animals, put up a bird feeder and bath. With a few small additions, you can begin to watch nature's drama unfold right at home. For more information, see the Cornell Ornithology Labs page on attracting birds to your backyard.

Tip: To keep costs low, trade perennials (plants that grow back year after year) with neighbors and friends. These plants usually need to be regularly divided or else they take over small garden spaces. Trading your extras for plants that you'd like to add to your natural space can save you hundreds of dollars.