We had been looking forward to this event all week! And it didn't disappoint! We were lucky the rain stopped for all the new families that came on our first Junior Nature Club adventure tonight - it was great to see! We started with an observation session of the Grey-headed Flying Fox and learning all about their habits, what they eat and where they go at night...! There was a little bit of 'tiggy' played by the kids while we watched and waited for the sun to go down - then a few at a time the flying-fox started to take off, then more, then more, then more - hundreds - thousands of flying-fox zooming right above us!  They are such swift and graceful flyers! And NO - none of them landed in our hair or anywhere near us :-). We ended our flying-fox session by learning about how they are great at dispersing seeds long distances and therefore help create forests which is important for their own habitat regeneration, habitat for other animals and for us too!

Then we headed down with our torches along the Yarra River for some spotlighting. We didn't have to go far at all before we came across a Tawny Frogmouth!  A few more steps and we got a Brushtail Possum... a few more steps and two Ringtail Possums! The kids were great - one little boy was very good with his animal knowledge - I was thoroughly impressed!  I am always taken back as to how much our kids know, understand and want to know - they have a thirst for knowledge about our natural world - my job is to try and keep up!!

Thanks to Active in Parks and People and Parks Foundation and their grant for the fabulous binoculars the kids enjoyed using for the first time!

We will definitely run more spotlighting sessions in the future as part of our Junior Nature Club and organise some more exciting adventures for the next school holidays!




  

We celebrated Day 5 of Nature Play Week at Yarra Bend Park in Kew today. A wonderful thunderstorm this morning set the scene for our nature exploration! We started with a look at the beautiful Grey-headed Flying-fox - learning about their large wingspan and how they pee by flipping the right way up (for us) and clinging onto branches with their thumbs - so they don't wee and poo on their heads! 

We then did lots of nature play and learning activities including a nature scavenger (a big hit!), bug hunting with our brand new equipment made possible by Active in Parks grant, birdwatching, making bat ears, creating some nature art and free play in nature - the best kind!

Thanks for everyone participating in our first Nature Play Week event. We are heading out with some bigger kids on Friday night to watch the Flying-fox take off for the night and to also do some spotlighting! Exciting stuff!

Today was another excellent session where Leap into Nature teamed up with EnviroKids in the Bayside suburb of Sandringham down on the foreshore. We were out on a bug hunt today and we found plenty to look at!  With over 30 kids taking part in the day it was one to remember.
We found all sorts of bugs, insects, pillbugs, grubs, larvae, ants, flies, milipedes, wasp casings... you name it - the kids found it!  We had our brand new digital microscope thanks to our recent grant from Active in Parks - which allowed us to really zoom in and check out all the minute details of the insects and bugs we found.  
The kids also enjoyed some nature craft and making insect hotels to take home.. all in all a great day!
Next up is our TWO sessions for Nature Play Week next week, should be a fantastic week and we can't wait to be a part of it! Hope you can join us - Email us if you would like to know more information mailto:info@leapintonature.com.au

Today was one of my favourite Leap into Nature sessions so far!  The kids got to help plant habitat around a frog pond within the Glenfern Valley Bushlands with the help and direction from Friends of Glenfern Valley Bushlands in Upwey. We set off into a north head wind - which seemed to make all the kids a bit more wild than normal!
Linda found us some beautiful peppermint eucalyptus leaves to smell and a lovely little possum home (drey). We found nature at its best with a dead baby snake being devoured by European Wasps!
Then the kids just got straight down to business digging and planting.  We even heard a Common Froglet calling towards the end - must have been a thank you ;-). We also caught some bugs, learnt about the frog life cycle, walked around learning things about the bush with local friends Marleen and Linda, played hide-and-seek and had a great time playing together in nature!
We have been invited back to Glenfern Valley Bushlands - which is fantastic - we will definitely be back!