DIY: Family Nature Clubs

 

Source: http://childrenandnature.ning.com/group/appalachianmountainclub

 

While North Carolina has numerous nature centers, zoos, and museums with family programming and events that will get children outside, exploring nature, some families may want to take it a step further and start their own nature club.  Likened to book clubs or community watch programs, nature clubs can be a way to build community and nurture relationships with others and the environment.  Nature clubs can be uniquely tailored to fit the needs of the group.  They can meet weekly or monthly.  They can involve extensive outdoor field trips to wilderness areas, or a weekly meeting at a nearby park.  But they all serve the same goal, to connect children, friends, and members of the community through outdoor experiences.  Club members can divide up responsibilities such as logistics, planning an education component, outreach to the members, etc.  Or each family or member can take turns planning a meet up.  Family Nature Clubs can offer several benefits such as providing a motivating factor to follow through with plans and ideas as well as multiple sources of new ideas on how to engage children outdoors.  How does the quote go, "It takes a village..."

 

Children & Nature Network (C&NN) is an initiative to connect children, families, and community to nature and has assembled a toolkit for starting your own Nature Club for Families.  The toolkit includes templates for coming up with a plan, checking out site locations, reaching out to your neighborhood or community, checklists for outings, and recording information about your participants and events.  The toolkit also includes a lot of helpful links for getting more ideas for your club. 

You can see the toolkit here.