We must teach our children to smell the earth, to taste the rain, to touch the wind, to see things grow, to hear the sun rise and night fall – to care. ~ John Cleal
We here at Frontera Audubon believe instilling a love for nature in early childhood is of the upmost importance. A child who grows in nature, grows into an adult with a love and respect for the nature around them.
After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, we were happy to reintroduce our Nature Nerds kid program this summer. We offered three Nature Nerd classes over the months of June & July.
Three different topics including:
• Pollinators
• Nocturnal Creatures
• Ponds & Pond Friends
Nature Nerds: Pollinators!
We kicked-off Nature Nerds with a fun lesson on Pollinators. We covered the importance of pollination, the process of pollination, and discussed several different pollinators.
Included in the lesson was a fun pollination activity using paper flowers, bottle caps, popsicle bees, and pollen (cheeto dust). Students learned how bees gather pollen from one flower and carry it to another. Such a fun and easy way to give a visual and hands on lesson on pollination.
After the activity we headed outdoors!
While in the orchard we kept our eyes peeled for any pollinators we might find. Nature Nerds were quick to point out butterflies, some hummingbirds, and a few bees on flowers. After a successful walk, we gathered inside once again and hydrated and enjoyed a little snack. We concluded our class with an easy craft. We made tissue paper butterfly sun catchers! Take a look:
Nature Nerds: Nocturnal Creatures
Our second Nature Nerd class was spent with some very enthusiastic and knowledgeable Nature Nerds! This Nature Nerd: Kids Day was all about nocturnal creatures like the Eastern screech owl, bats, orbweaver spiders, opossums and more! We braved the heat and took a long walk through the thicket visiting spots that we wanted to explore during our Night Hike that took place a week later on July 13th. (more on that here) After a much needed snack break, friend of Frontera Connie guided the Nature Nerds in a fun flashlight craft.
Nature Nerds: Ponds & Pond Friends
Our final Nature Nerds: Kid Day of the summer took place on Friday, July 29. We discussed ponds and pond friends. We took a moment to sit by our middle pond to sit quietly and observe the life in and around it. After, we took a closer look at what type of life can be found inside our ponds including tadpoles and small fish. After we hydrated and snacked, Nature Nerds made their very own frog using a recycled toilet paper roll, some string, and paper!
We would like to thank everyone who made it out to one of our Nature Nerd classes this summer. We are so excited to be able to host them again, and look forward to more classes in the future! To stay updated with upcoming programs and events follow us on social media and subscribe to our email list.
