Dumb Question for CM users....

[tuzor]

Dont laugh....

I have an idea about nature study. My neighborhoood is not nature friendly per se. Although I plan to put a bird feeder in the back yard next year for us to observe birds that come and feed. I was wondering if our zoo membership would count as our nature study. We could go down twice a month or so and draw the different animals in thier habitats. Is this a crazy idea or am I on to something.

 

 

What's your input?

[MerryAtHope]

Not dumb at all! I think that would count but also...don't discount what might be in your neighborhood. If you have any grass at all, go out with magnifying glasses and look for bugs, different types of weeds or wild flowers, and so on. If any trees--learn how to identify them by their bark, shape, leaves, etc... Take pictures or draw pictures of them in different seasons. Look for different types of birds in your neighborhood, and learn their calls as well as what the males and females look like, their habits and so on.

 

IOW...you don't have to live in the country to do nature study :-).

 

Merry :-)

[Kalmia]

The zoo is a great place to do nature study! The only thing to remember is that if you study animal behavior, it is going to be somewhat altered from what you would see in the wild.

 

But here is a book on urban nature you might want to check out to learn about your local area:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Browns-Field-Guide-Forgotten-Wilderness/dp/0425097153/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1334780714&sr=8-9

 

And one for the Kids

 

http://www.amazon.com/Critters-Houston-Arboretum-Nature-Center/dp/007053201X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334780838&sr=1-1

 

I am sure there are more if you search for urban wildlife.

[fairy4tmama]

Not dumb at all! I think that would count but also...don't discount what might be in your neighborhood. If you have any grass at all, go out with magnifying glasses and look for bugs, different types of weeds or wild flowers, and so on. If any trees--learn how to identify them by their bark, shape, leaves, etc... Take pictures or draw pictures of them in different seasons. Look for different types of birds in your neighborhood, and learn their calls as well as what the males and females look like, their habits and so on.

 

IOW...you don't have to live in the country to do nature study :-).

 

Merry :-)

:iagree: ya know the grass is always greener... I live in a small city we have nat'l forest right outside our back door and yet I am sitting here wishing we had a zoo so we could go twice a month and do as you describe:tongue_smilie:

[Bearcat]

I agree that nature study could work well at a zoo. Our zoo also happens to be a botanical garden but I bet a regular zoo has plenty of nature to observe and enjoy beyond the animals.

 

Not dumb at all! I think that would count but also...don't discount what might be in your neighborhood. If you have any grass at all, go out with magnifying glasses and look for bugs, different types of weeds or wild flowers, and so on. If any trees--learn how to identify them by their bark, shape, leaves, etc... Take pictures or draw pictures of them in different seasons. Look for different types of birds in your neighborhood, and learn their calls as well as what the males and females look like, their habits and so on.

 

IOW...you don't have to live in the country to do nature study :-).

 

I also agree with this. We take walks around our neighborhood almost everyday that are turned into informal nature study moments. And those moments often turn into more in depth nature study. The maple trees are dropping their seeds like crazy right now which has really caught my son's attention this year so we are now learning about maples and their seeds.

 

Don't discount your neighborhood even if on the surface it might seem rather nature-less. :)

[fairy4tmama]

Don't discount your neighborhood even if on the surface it might seem rather nature-less. :)

:iagree:This too, even though the woods behind our house are lovely and we have a lot of fun rambling about in them, I find the walks in our neighborhood to be a wealth of opportunity!

[tuzor]

Not dumb at all! I think that would count but also...don't discount what might be in your neighborhood. If you have any grass at all, go out with magnifying glasses and look for bugs, different types of weeds or wild flowers, and so on. If any trees--learn how to identify them by their bark, shape, leaves, etc... Take pictures or draw pictures of them in different seasons. Look for different types of birds in your neighborhood, and learn their calls as well as what the males and females look like, their habits and so on.

 

IOW...you don't have to live in the country to do nature study :-).

 

Merry :-)

 

Thanks for the idea.

 

The zoo is a great place to do nature study! The only thing to remember is that if you study animal behavior, it is going to be somewhat altered from what you would see in the wild.

 

But here is a book on urban nature you might want to check out to learn about your local area:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Browns-Field-Guide-Forgotten-Wilderness/dp/0425097153/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1334780714&sr=8-9

 

And one for the Kids

 

http://www.amazon.com/Critters-Houston-Arboretum-Nature-Center/dp/007053201X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334780838&sr=1-1

 

I am sure there are more if you search for urban wildlife.

 

Hmm, I will have to check out these sources. Thanks.

:iagree: ya know the grass is always greener... I live in a small city we have nat'l forest right outside our back door and yet I am sitting here wishing we had a zoo so we could go twice a month and do as you describe:tongue_smilie:

Funny!

[Jay3fer]

Just want to chime in as another urban CM-ish "nature-studyer." We're in midtown Toronto, and use parks and just about anything green in our neighbourhood as an opportunity to study "nature."

 

In fact, I have read recently that this is a harmful dichotomy we've constructed for ourselves - nature vs civilization, where nature is an area without people and civilization is an area without nature.

 

In fact, just like the expression "there is no away," there IS no natural area anywhere untouched by human influence, and no human anywhere who lives outside of nature (unless they've found a way to get by without oxygen, water, etc).

 

If your urban area isn't nice to look around at, find people who are fixing it - with gardens, murals, bee colonies, urban chickens, etc., and make that your "nature study." :-)))

[Woodland Mist Academy]

You've been given lots of great suggestions.

 

An idea to go along with your bird feeder is Project Feederwatch. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

 

Studying phases of the moon is another idea.

 

Seeing where and when the sun rises and sets during the different seasons is also a possiblity.

 

I've seen gorgeous nature journals focusing on phases of the moon and recording the time of the rising and setting sun throughout the year. Also included were sketches of how the light hit the same objects differently depending on the time of year.

 

Remember-- we are part of nature. We can't escape it. :001_smile:

[mmpmelmack]

Lots of good ideas, but I wanted to add, we live in the desert, and last year we were in a city, so we had a double whammy. Last spring we found this big tree in a park we could walk too, every two weeks we walked down and drew the tree, paying lots of attention to what was happening with that one tree. We found it also had a a bug or a flower, or something to study, I was amazed at how much we learned from that one tree. And we have a really great book of drawings of it too. There were birds, and even a squirrel in it once. So even in the most barren of cities we found a years worth of nature to study. You will too, once you start looking around. You just have to use fresh eyes! Good luck!

[Loudwater School]

I think that sounds like a great idea. We are in an entirely urban area (think rowhouses & townhomes), but we are quite near a museum that has an exhibit on birds that are native to the state, another on rocks that are native to it, etc. We go down there for nature study, sit in the air conditioning on the benches, and draw birds that are in display cases meant to mimic their natural environments.

[tuzor]

Lots of good ideas, but I wanted to add, we live in the desert, and last year we were in a city, so we had a double whammy. Last spring we found this big tree in a park we could walk too, every two weeks we walked down and drew the tree, paying lots of attention to what was happening with that one tree. We found it also had a a bug or a flower, or something to study, I was amazed at how much we learned from that one tree. And we have a really great book of drawings of it too. There were birds, and even a squirrel in it once. So even in the most barren of cities we found a years worth of nature to study. You will too, once you start looking around. You just have to use fresh eyes! Good luck!

 

"Fresh eyes" I am excited by this. Here I was thinking well I guess we could do a birdstudy, but know I have several ideas to incorporate year round. The Hive Rocks!