I took my daughter and my niece to Packer Park in Carnegie on the weekend for a 'nature session'.  It was freezing! But we rugged up and got moving. The girls were playing follow the leader, climbing trees and we made little 'nests' for a bird, gecko and ants.  We collected a few items such as leaves and flowers to later make a sun catcher at home.

At Packer Park there is a great play area that shows eggs, tadpoles and a frog - so I took the opportunity to talk about my favourite subject... FROGS ... and their life cycle!  We followed it up back home by doing a cut and paste activity of the frog life cycle.

I'm always pleasantly surprised at how much kids are 'into' nature activities.  It's tactile for them, they are able to smell fresh eucalypt leaves, see Rainbow Lorikeets zooming past their head and hear the trees "talking" (as my daughter says) as the wind rustles through their leaves. I get to re-live through kids the wonder I first felt when I discovered the beauty and amazing plants and animals that occur in nature.  

As a consultant zoologist we would always discuss what we had recorded out in the field, when asked we would often say 'just the usual suspects' - which generally meant 'just' a suite of common species.  It is funny that now these common plants and animals are what I get really excited about seeing as it is the first time my daughter is learning about them, so watching a flock of Galahs foraging at a local park is once again interesting and fascinating. 

LiNC will be visiting Braeside Park for a nature adventure on 7 May 2014, contact me if you and your kids would like to join us.

Yesterday I took the kids to an Enviro Kids event at Bayside Community Plant Nursery. It was a great morning with fun activities for a predominantly young age group. Kids learnt what a plant seed needs to grow (soil, rain, sun) and different ways seeds disperse (people, animals, water, wind) through songs and other useful resources. We had a tour of the nursery and made a seed bomb too!

When the kids were asked if they knew what a weed was one lovely kid said "It's a cheeky plant growing in the wrong spot". I thought that was a great explanation!

It was interesting seeing the different age groups respond to the activities, the preschoolers and early school kids were right into singing and copying actions for a seed growing, but the older kids were like 'how embarrassing'... Good to know for future LiNC sessions.

Hi there, thanks for visiting my site! This blog is all about how we can reconnect our kids with nature and to also give a run down of what we get up to during our Leap into Nature Club sessions. 

I started Leap into Nature as a way to not only motivate myself to get my kids out in the natural environment, but to also get other kids involved.  The notion of connecting kids with nature, especially in the early years (e.g. 0-5 years old) is a growing movement in Victoria, Australia and around the world.  

Leap into Nature aims to provide the opportunity to my family and friends, and perhaps one day beyond, to re-connect with nature.

Brief bio: I am a mother of two lovely daughters who are to me (like all kids are to their mothers) my heart and soul.  I studied Conservation Ecology at Uni. and have worked as a consulting zoologist for over 10 years.  I would love to pass on my knowledge and passion for the environment to my kids and any other kids who are willing to listen to me!

See my website for more details on Leap into Nature Club.