Nature Walk Ideas

By CNPS

A quiet solo walk can be an important and impactful event for nurturing a child’s connection to the natural world. Observations from a two-minute journey can develop memories for a lifetime. Time walking alone–listening to sounds, watching for colors, or the movement of birds–provides an opportunity for deeper connection. It also provides time to reflect on self and ask questions about the world around us.

Observations from a two-minute journey can develop memories for a lifetime.

Download our student and field-tested cards designed to enhance a child’s wonder, connection to, and understanding of, plant life in the natural environment surrounding them and to enhance a child’s connection to native plants. Depending on the target age groups, cards can be as simple as indicating the presence of a nearby flowering plant, or as detailed as having the participant find a fallen alder seed cone and examine it.

Keys for a successful solo plant walk

• Find a safe trail without spurs for at least 500 meters. Set clear verbal expectations, and restate them on the first card with suggestions like, “Go solo and silent” and “Leave cards where you find them.”
• One adult stays with the kids while the other leaves first, laying down the cards at appropriate distances.
• Dismiss hikers at 1 minute intervals, encourage them to use all their senses, and have one question to ask the group once the group reunites. Plan to have a quite activity to keep the group busy while they are waiting to be dispatched.  Similarly, plan to have a quite reflective activity (drawing, scavenger hunt) for those who have completed their walk and are waiting for the whole group to return.

Design your own cards that fit the specific environment you will explore, focusing on the native plants in your area, and share them with us!

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

– Robert Frost