80 Creative Ways to Explore Nature

1. Take a walk outside. 2. Watch a sunrise. 3. Look for shells on the beach. 4. Draw a picture of leaves changing color in the fall. 5. Build a sand castle. 6. Take photographs of plants, animals, clouds, sunsets, and other things you see outdoors. 7. Go hiking. 8. Go camping. 9. Go back-packing. 10. Research a special place and then go there on a pilgrimage.

11. Plant a garden. 12. Volunteer at an animal rescue service or a metro-park. 13. Learn about endangered animals and try to see them in their natural environments. 14. Learn how to identify different trees. 15. Learn how to identify useful herbs. 16. Pick raspberries and blackberries in the woods. 17. Bring flowers into your house. 18. Write a poem while sitting on your porch or in a park. 19. Collect feathers. 20. Watch snow fall.

21. Watch light coming through moving tree branches and leaves. 22. Hang wind chimes. 23. Build and tend a bonfire. 24. Go swimming. 25. Sleep under the stars. 26. Collect and learn to identify stones. 27. Go to an observatory and see a slide show about the planets. 28. Visit the Detroit science center. 29. Participate in a guided nature walk at a metro-park. 30. Learn a creation story and be able to tell it.

31. Learn about foods, nutrition, and how it affects the body. 32. Cook a meal and think about the growth cycle of each part of the meal. 33. Make a flower garland. 34. Make an incense and learn something about each of the plants and herbs you included. 35. Look at the sky from the same place at four different times in one day. Notice the differences. 36. Listen to birds singing and see how many distinct voices you can pick out. 37. Feel the texture of things like moist grass and rough bark. 38. Count the seconds between when you see a bolt of lightning and when you hear thunder crack. 39. Go on a boat ride and feel the wind and moisture on your face. 40. Take up an outdoor sport or regular outdoor activity.

41. Smell the fragrance of the wind in autumn. 42. Stop and smell flowers in some random place as you are walking. 43. Notice the halo around the moon on some nights. 44. Find out when a meteor shower is falling and try to catch glimpses of 'shooting stars'. 45. Sprinkle wildflower seeds along the highway. 46. Find something out in nature that speaks to you and bring it home. (a pine cone, a piece of driftwood.) 47. Drink water and appreciate it. 48. Catch your own fish or game, and use what you get. 49. Prepare a meal from scratch. 50. Make a salad that includes things you grew in your garden.

51. Learn about simple herbal remedies and grow some of the herbs in your garden. 52. Learn about the human body. 53. Make a point to actually taste and enjoy your food. 54. Take care of pets and spend time with them. 55. Visit a zoo. 56. Sit outside drinking a hot drink on a cold morning late in the fall. 57. Actively look for the first flowers and leaves of Spring. 58. Engage your senses in this very moment. 59. Let your eyes adjust and learn to walk around in near darkness. 60. Go to a playground and swing on the swings.

61. Go for a bike ride. 62. Learn how cats purr. 63. Find some folklore about nature and the weather and see if you can discern for yourself weather or not it is true. 64. Watch local animals and birds. 65. Climb a tree (or remember how it felt to climb a tree.) 66. Collect water from different natural sources. 67. Find a natural spring. 68. Learn how to use a topographical map. 69. Learn how to build or make something from things you find in nature. 70. Do that project.

71. Go for a walk at night with friends. 72. Make a meal on a fire you built. 73. Watch clouds passing. 74. Listen to the rain. 75. Listen to the waves of a lake or ocean. 76. Pet an animal. 77. Try to identify different scents you pick up in the air. 78. Go on a safari in your back yard. 79. Go on a real safari. 80. Watch sunsets.

by Nicolette Stevens

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