Backyard Environmental Learning Activities for Kids and Families

In “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” (surely a guidebook for these times!), artist Jennie Odell talks about the satisfaction that comes from mentally transforming an undifferentiated mass of greenery into known species. That knowledge gives a sense of both belonging and control, which most of us really need right now. For little kids, just taking a walk and pointing out common flowers or spotting the eagle flying overhead may be enough to make them feel knowledgeable. More goal-oriented tots might appreciate a scavenger hunt or a game of bug bingo.

Your family can use iNaturalist, a social-media app, to record encounters with other organisms, crowdsource identification and maintain life lists. Older kids can also download Mammalz, a sort of multimedia YouTube for nature content.

Teens can take their botany and taxonomy a step further by using identification keys in field guides — and by extension, learning the vocabulary to describe leaf shapes, feather types and insect anatomy.