Heading back to school can be tough for kids, parents, and teachers as everyone adjusts their routines. It can also mean kids spend even more time indoors, but keeping children interested wildlife can encourage them to explore and head outside. Check out some of these activities to keep kids engaged with nature until next summer!
- Take a Hike! There are still a few weeks left of summer to enjoy a visit to one of Alberta’s many municipal, provincial, or national parks to see wildlife before hibernation and birds before migration.
- Create! Help the kids in your life start a photo blog, write a story, paint a picture, or sculpt an animal. The information you’ll learn together by examining wildlife through different mediums will be surprising!
- Be a Detective! Once the snow falls, follow the tracks and see if you can figure out what wildlife has travelled through the area.
- Volunteer! Participate in a community cleanup to prevent animals from eating something they shouldn’t or becoming trapped or tangled in improperly discarded items.
- Adopt an Animal! Teach budgeting by encouraging children to save their allowance to adopt an animal from AIWC or sponsor a patient.
- Prepare! Start planning for next summer by mapping out a pollinator garden and researching the best plants to support bumblebees, butterflies, hummingbirds and others throughout the spring and summer.
- Write a Letter! Help kids write a letter to engage a local, national, or international organization to ask for more information about their wildlife programs and things that they can do to help protect wildlife and their habitats.
- Book an Educator! Book a wildlife educator to visit your classroom to learn more about Alberta’s animals.
- Fundraise! Get kids to collaborate with friends and classmates to fundraise for local organizations or gather in kind donations for AIWC’s wish list
- Build! Help give wildlife a safe space to live next summer by building nest boxes with children over the coming months. Bumblebees, bats, and birds all have unique housing needs, so do some research online to find out more about the best sizes and shapes for different species.
By Stephanie Ruddock, AIWC Volunteer
