Nature Nuggets
Nature activities, taken in nuggets, will bring a breath of fresh air (literally!) into your daily routine. Nature Nuggets is a short-video series produced by The Ecology School's Program Team. They guide kids (and adults!) on an ecological adventure in their own homes, sparking curiosity about nature in our own lives and getting us all outside more! The activities are easy to follow, portable, and are now available for anyone who wants an inspiring "nugget" of nature.
*If you are sharing Nature Nuggets with children, please scroll to the bottom of the page for a note about safe ways to do so!
Nature Nuggets | Nugget #1: Seasonal Observation
There’s so much to see right in our own backyards. Join Meg, The Ecology School's Director of Educational Partnerships, as she guides us on an exploration of the life sprouting all around us in this Nature Nugget!
Nature Nuggets | Nugget #2: Nature Journal
Take in all the sights, smells, tastes (yes tastes!), and sounds of the world around you. In this week's #NatureNuggets, we join Meg, our Director of Educational Partnerships, as she teaches us to watch and record the changes happening all around us as things "spring" to life.
Grab 📝 and head outside to join her! Even if you don't have access to an outdoor space, a look out your window will certainly keep your Nature Journal full of the things all around you. (Does the wind make a sound on your window? Can you see birds in the sky?) Be sure to crack the window open a bit and take a breath of fresh air.🌬🍃
Nature Nuggets | Nugget #3: Sound Mapping
Birds merrily chirping, a breeze rustling tree branches, and (a sure sign of spring) peepers peeping. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and...listen! 🍃
For this week's #NatureNugget, join Meg, our Director of Educational Partnerships, as she leads us through mapping the sounds that we hear when we sit and listen. Grab something you can write with, take a seat outside (or by an open window!) and turn on your ears!
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #4: Moon Log
Outdoor observations are a fun activity at any time of the day, but let's try exploring nature at night! In this #NatureNugget, we take a look at the night sky. Think all you'll see is darkness? Think again...
Join Mallory, our Program Assistant, as she explains a moon log! It doesn't need to be anything fancy, just take a look at the night sky and record what you see. A project for all ages, your moon log can even be incorporated into bedtime routines.
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #5: I Notice, I Wonder, It Reminds Me Of...
Dive into the details! Use your senses to learn more about an everyday object and finish the sentence…
👀 I Notice...
🤔I Wonder...
☝️This reminds me...
For this week’s #NatureNugget, join Amalie, our Program Manager, as she practices her observation and question-asking skills. Using sentence starters to spark an investigation, this activity was developed by BEETLES Project (Lawrence Hall of Science - UC Berkeley) and gives us a chance to focus in and notice, wonder, and draw connections with the details of everyday items!
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #6: Build a Watershed
Where does the water from a river come from? How does the snow travel from high in the mountains down to the ocean? 🌊🏔️ In this week’s #NatureNuggets you’ll learn how to build your very own watershed to see exactly how water moves through the landscape!
What exactly is a watershed? It’s a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt from high points in the landscape to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as the ocean. Using found objects in your backyard or inside your home, follow along with Mallory to build a model watershed and guess where the water will end up! 💧
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #7: Seed Planting
🌎Happy 50th Anniversary of #EarthDay🌎
Plant a seed, nurture it, watch it bloom and grow! 🌱 In this special Earth Day edition of #NatureNuggets, Meg shows us a few simple steps to plant seeds at home! (No soil? No problem! You'll get tips on how you can plant seeds without soil.) Celebrate the Earth by planting native seeds to feed and shelter pollinators like wild bees and butterflies. 🐝 🦋
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #8: Banana Vault
Why does a banana peel change color? How do dead leaves disappear into the dirt? What things in nature help break down one thing into another? Air, light, and decomposers (soil, fungus, worms) are factors that go into changing organic materials (things that were once living) over time.
In this #NatureNugget Alex Grindle, our Director of Programs, guides us through a simple science experiment called Banana Vault 🍌. Create your own Banana Vault and compare the way an everyday household item—a banana peel—changes when it is exposed to different natural elements. Make predictions, observations, and collect data just as a scientist would! 👩🏿🔬👨🏽🔬
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #9: Cloud Viewer
Wish you could predict the weather 🌦? Do you have dreams of becoming a meteorologist? Do you enjoy spending some time just gazing up at the clouds?
Things are looking up in this week's #NatureNugget! Join Meg (and special guest Evan) as we look to the sky to learn more about clouds and what clues they can give us about the weather. 🌅
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #11: Weather Log
Look up! Look down! Look all around!
Turns out you don't need any special tools to track the weather 🌤, just your observation skills 👀.
In this weeks #NatureNugget, join Amalie as she walks us through her Weather Log 📝 and gives some examples of questions we can answer with a glance out a window 🏞 (You could even grab your cloud viewer from Nature Nugget #10, to help answer some questions.)
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #12: Nature in Unexpected Places
Nature pops up all around us in unexpected places! 🏡
In this week's #NatureNugget, join Alex as we take a closer look at all the places nature shows up that we don't expect it to be 🧐. From the moss that pokes up to fill the cracks in your driveway to a tiny spider friend 🕷 that may show up in your living room, nature is always making its way into our lives in unexpected ways. All you need are your observation skills and a healthy dose of curiosity! 🔎
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #13: Basement Windows
Did you know the forest floor has a basement? Just like many of our homes! Peak into the basement of the forest to see what is breaking things down and keeping the forest soil happy and healthy. 🌲
Join Meg, and her exploration partner Evan, as they turn over logs in search of salamanders, millipedes, worms, and more! 🔎 🐛 By flipping over the decomposing logs, we can peak into the homes of creatures we don't get to see every day! When you are finished looking at all the interesting things in the basement of the forest (underneath the logs ) don't forget to close the "window" and gently roll the log back to its original place.
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #15: Nature Art - Inspired by Andrew Goldsworthy
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #14: Study Plot Observations
By taking a closer look we are able to see all the little details in nature! A stripe on a blade of grass 🌱, the orange tint to a flower petal 🌼 , and so much more.
In this weeks #NatureNugget, we join Meg as she teaches us how to use a study plot to guide our observations 🔎. Together, we will zoom in to a specific area and will look for details that we otherwise may have missed 🧐.
Art inspired by nature! Bring your observation skills and creativity along for this #NatureNugget. Join Alex as she shows us how to use found objects in our yards to create mini-masterpieces 🎨🌿.
This #NatureNugget is influenced by the work of British sculptor Andrew Goldsworthy who is known for his site-specific installations involving natural materials 🍁 and the passage of time ⏰. (We also want to thank Peter, Alex's husband, for his on-point and steady-handed cameraman skills. Thanks Peter!)
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #16 - Soil Smudges
Pinch and smudge! By taking a look at the soil that's under our feet, we can make observations and ask questions about the stories 📚 that soil can tell us.
Join Mallory in this #NatureNugget as she investigates how different soils can feel from a very small area! Whether sampled under a tree 🌳, in a backyard garden 🏡, or under the grass 🌱, there are clues in the soil that can help us unlock the story of what lies beneath our feet!
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #17 - Bug Lures
There are so many creatures that call the outdoor areas around us home🐞. Insects make up a huge percentage of all animals and they love to rummage around in the dirt, grass, rocks, and water🐛.
In this week's #NatureNugget, join Meg as she creates a bug lure to collect and watch the bugs in her backyard🦋. By creating a space that is enticing to insects by providing a small amount of food, we are able to see a snapshot of who uses a space we may overlook🦗. Once you're done, you can carefully brush the bugs out and let them be on their way!
Nature Nuggets | Nature Nugget #18: Transpiration Experiment
Did you know that trees exhale 🌬, or "breath out," water💧? In this week's #NatureNugget, we join Amalie and jump into a transpiration experiment 🧪 ! As trees process the water that they suck up through their roots, the leaves will release water back into the air in a process called Transpiration. Transpiration has two main functions: cooling the plant ❄ and pumping water and minerals to the leaves for photosynthesis🌿.
Join us as we gather evidence of this natural process!
A Note About Sharing Nature Nuggets
Are you sharing our Nature Nuggets with students or children? Wonderful! We created these videos so that parents, guardians, teachers, education professionals, and anyone who is interested can share, share, share!
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