I’d like to introduce you to a site called Green Hour. Green Hour is run by the National Wildlife Federation and it’s all about bringing kids and nature in contact with each other. The premise is that by setting aside just one hour per day for children to interact with nature we can bring about positive change. I’m all in favor of that!
A couple of things which are really nice about this site are:
#1 – Weekly Activity Podcasts
With some sites the volume of information can be overwhelming. As a parent with a young child you won’t have time to read for hours. At Green Hour they make the information manageable by providing a weekly activity, which is down-loadable as a podcast. I haven’t personally ventured into the world of podcast listening, but I can see how with young children around this format would be easier than reading on the computer. My kids are teens now, but I certainly remember those days!
#2 – Find a Nature Spot
It’s surprisingly hard to find a list of all nature spots close to you, such as city, county and state parks, especially when you live near the border of more than one state. The Nature Find feature at Green Hour is the nicest, and most comprehensive search for this that I’ve seen. It shows distance and the type of facilities available, such as whether you can hike, camp and fish. There is also an event search function which turned up pages of events for my area. Admittedly most of the events listed for my area are at one location, but if you click on the event you get a page of information which details times, ages etc and provides a link to the organizer’s website. I know I’d really have valued this when my kids were younger and loved to go to these kinds of things.
Do take a look at Green Hour and let me know what you think. Do they have nature spots for your area listed? Had you heard of this before? Do you have a green hour with your kids?
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We don’t necessarily devote one hour per day to nature, but we probably spend three times that amount outside each day on average. Planting, weeding, picking, digging, it’s all part and parcel with being outdoors. The girls like to find slugs. And boy do we have slugs.
Ruralmama, you obviously do a great job of not just green hour, but maybe green day! I’ll admit, it’s something I need to work on. You’re a good example