10 Fun and Easy Nature Club Activities For Kids
Starting a nature club is a fantastic way to help kids connect with the outdoors - whether you're a parent, homeschooler, or teacher. But once your club is up and running, what do you actually do?
Here are 10 simple, fun, and low-prep nature club activities for kids that work just as well in your back garden as they do in the school field or local park.
And if you want help getting started, you can get our free Nature Club Starter Kit here. It includes a printable guide, scavenger hunts, badge tracker, and more!
1) Go on a scavenger hunt
Pass around some clipboards and scavenger hunts, then set off outdoors to see what you can find. These can be focussed on a theme, habitat or season, such as meadow flowers, autumn leaves or bugs and butterflies. (There are two free scavenger hunts in our nature club starter kit.)
Scavenger hunts help children to practice their observation skills, slow down and really look at what is living and growing around them. You can even tailor your scavengers to include textures, smells or sounds to engage more senses.
2) Start a nature journal
Give each child a sketchbook, notebook or nature journal and encourage them to draw, label, write and reflect on what they observe outdoors. For example, the weather, trees, flowers, animals, birds, insects or the landscape.
Continuing a nature journal over time can help foster observation, nature literacy and emotional expression - as well as forging a connection to and relationship with the natural world. (Learn how to start a nature journal here.)
3) Enjoy a spot of pond dipping
Use nets and trays to gently scoop water out of a pond and see if you can discover some of the little creatures living there - creatures such as tadpoles, water beetles, minnows and mayfly nymphs.
You can even use magnifying glasses and identification sheets to help find their names and learn more about them. Then, sketch and label them in your journal before gently releasing them back into their pond.
4) Try a spot of bird watching
Take along some binoculars and encourage a silent nature walk to see how many birds you can see or hear. Then, try and identify them by sight and sound, using a field guide, spotter sheet or app to guide you.
This activity requires patience, keen eyes and good sound tracking and it helps you connect with your local wildlife. For extra fun, at the end of the walk, see if you can mimic the calls of the birds you heard.
5) Go on a insect safari
Hand round some magnifying glasses, find your courage and set off on a mini bug safari. How many insects can you find? Where will you find them? What are they doing? Are they babies or adults?
This activity helps children find their curiosity and overcome a fear of insects by seeing them as the fascinating creatures that they are. It also ties in with nature study modules such as habitats, life cycles and biodiversity.
6) Tree identification walk
Pass around some tree spotter sheets and use leaves, bark, seeds, buds or flowers to try and identify the trees growing in your area. You can even repeat this walk and visit the same trees in different seasons to see how they change.
This activity fosters not only awareness, but also encourages botanical skills and description. How do you know this leaf belongs to a hazel and not a rowan? Why tree has fibrous bark? Who has big, red, sticky buds?
7) Go on for an evening nature walk.
Pass around some torches, ready your ears and head out for a quiet dusk-time nature walk. How does the landscape change in the evening? Which animals are heading to bed and which are waking up?
Look and listen for frogs, bats, owls or foxes. Practice using your ears instead of relying on your eyes. At the end of the walk, sketch, label and reflect on what you noticed in your nature journals.
8) Map a nature trail
Visit a local park, forest or other nature trail and take some paper and pencils with you. Walk the trail and create your own hand-drawn maps as you go. Map out the path, trees, streams, animal homes or secret spots.
This activity helps to develop spatial awareness, observational skills and creativity. You can even laminate the maps to use again on future visits to that nature trail.
9) Make nature postcards
Head out to a local green space, such as a woodland, meadow or coastline and see how many signs of animal life you can find. Look for tracks, feathers, dens, scat or fur. Then try and identify who might have left these signs.
Use tracking cards or field guides to help you try and identify what you find. For extra fun, you can even use clay or plaster to make imprints of any tracks you find!
10) Earn badges or certificates
Motivate your group to observe, learn and explore with printable badges or tracker sheets. Award a badge or sticker for each walk, project or activity completed. You can find a free badge tracker and certificate in our starter kit.
In Summary
Starting a nature club doesn’t have to be complicated. With just a few printables, a notebook, and a little imagination, you can create rich and meaningful outdoor learning experiences for your children.
Ready to start your own group? Download the FREE Nature Club Starter Kit here and get everything you need to begin!
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