Reconnect with Nature with These Green Summer Activities for Kids

As a kid, I remember leaving the house as soon as the sun rose and only returning when it was time to grab a bite to eat. Those summer days spent outdoors helped foster my lifelong love for nature. My list of summer activities included climbing trees, catching tadpoles, wading in creeks and camping with my family nearly every weekend.

Fast forward a couple decades and times have changed. Today's kids have traded making mud pies and catching fireflies with playing video games and texting friends. Our plugged-in society has become less engaged with nature and it's become harder to find kids who regularly participate in outdoor summer activities. This has many parents, educators, health professionals and business leaders concerned. More time spent indoors and less outdoor activity has been linked to the growing childhood obesity rate with few children achieving the daily 60 minutes of exercise recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

Summer is the perfect time for parents to help children get outside and reconnect with the environment. Here are a few green summer activities for kids to explore this summer.

Explore the Outdoors with these Green Summer Activities for Kids

Of course, biking, hiking and swimming are common summer activities for kids. These green summer activities encourage kids to get outdoors and explore nature. Each of these combines educational environmental elements with fun to keep kids entertained and engaged.

A fun summer activity that helps children identify plants, insects, trees and animals is an Environmental Treasure Hunt. To play, you'll need to create a checklist for kids to use as they search for the environmental treasure in your backyard, park or recreation area. Be sure to include plants, wildlife, flowers, trees and insects commonly found in your area. For younger children, you may want to use a picture along with text to help them find the designated "treasure" items. You can modify this green summer activity and use it to fight boredom on camping trips, nature hikes and day trips to parks.

One of the perfect green summer activities for kids that can't stand the thought of leaving their gadgets at home is making an environmental video. Provide some possible topic suggestions and let your children choose the topic they'd like to create a video about. The project can help build awareness about an environmental concern such as pollution, explore the growing cycle of a garden or examine the habitat of wildlife in your area. This is a great project for tweens and teens to undertake. A fun, yet educational activity lets them put their creativity, organization and research skills to the test. The video can then be edited using a computer and software The video can then be shared with friends and family members or uploaded to their own nature focused blog .

Encourage a love for reading and nature by creating your own nature-focused book club. This green summer activity for kids can be modified to fit the reading level of your kids. Visit your local library to find books about local trees, wildlife, renewable energy and natural habitats. Encourage kids to bring along a blanket and plan to hold weekly meetings outdoors in a local park or in your own backyard. Take time to discuss the book together and if possible, consider taking a field trip to sites related to the book you are reading about. For instance, if you read a book about recycling, consider taking a field trip to a recycling center.

Need additional motivation to get your kids outdoors? These green summer activities for kids provide kids with a chance to win prizes or recognition. Green-themed contests featured on the websites like Earth Rangers, North American Association for Environmental Education and Kids for Saving Earth have ongoing contests that encourage kids to get outdoors. For instance, kids can submit photographs of wildflowers found in their area, raise funds to protect a natural wildlife habitat or design posters to encourage other kids to protect the earth. Contest prizes range from cash awards, name and information posted on a website or earth-friendly gear and gadgets.

Before you go any outdoor adventure, be sure to pack along binoculars, water, bug spray, sunscreen, field guides, camera and a first aid kit. Having a cell phone with fully charged battery is a good idea too. If you like to scrapbook, be sure to bring along a camera to document the green summer activities your kids participate in and use them to create your own environmentally-focused scrapbook.

You can find additional green summer activities for kids on the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website for kids. Your local parks and recreation department and state parks may offer green summer activities for kids as well.

Sources:

Kids for Saving Earth http://kidsforsavingearth.org/programs/wildflowerteam_join.htm

National Wildlife Federation: Get Outside http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Be-Out-There.aspx

National Resources Defense Council - http://www.nrdc.org/reference/kids.asp