Nature Photography for Kids

Create Your Own Backyard Field Guide

Kids love cameras and kids love nature. Combine the two and you have with a wonderful project to fill your summer days.  Last week we explored our backyards with Backyard Exploration, this week we are going to expand on that and make our own backyard field guides using photography.

Allow children to be the lead on the project and follow their interests. Do they want to create a backyard butterfly field guide? A tree field guide?  The sky is the limit (literally - maybe they want to create a cloud guide!). Inventory the plants and animals (or what they have chosen) in your backyard. Photograph each plant and animal and take notes about where you found it, how it feels, smells, and other observations.

Once you have photographed the subjects you want to include download the pictures to your computer. Go through the photographs with your children and decide which photos to include in your field guide (you will most likely have several photos of one subject; pick the best quality photo of each).

With your children identify each subject that you are going to include in your backyard field guide. If you do not have field guides they can be checked out from your local library. There are also many on-line field guide resources.  Allow children time to look through field guides to get an idea of what they look like, and what information is included in each. Decide what information you are going to include in your backyard field guide.

Create your field guides by printing pictures and descriptions and creating a journal. An old notebook or photo album will work. You could also create a photobook through a website such as Snapfish and have an actual book created and mailed to you. You now have a field guide for your own backyard!

Want to expand your field guide? Create a field guide for your neighborhood or community, your favorite camping site, local park, or a vacation trip!

Camera Basics

Teach children the basics of operating a digital camera. For young children teaching them to point and shoot may be enough. Older children may want to learn about the different settings.

There are several kinds of children’s cameras available; however, they generally do not take quality photos. You can get a cheap “adult” camera that will take better photos for the same price. Base your decision on the age of the children and how much “rough and tumble” action the camera will see - kid’s cameras are built to withstand drops, and rougher handling. You can also allow children to use your camera with supervision or purchase disposable cameras for each child.

More Fun Nature Photography Ideas for Kids

Photography scavenger hunts: colors, shapes, alphabet (i.e. tree branches shaped like an A etc), insects, leaves, etc…

Themed photography walks: butterflies, beetles, birds, trees, wildflowers

Personal photo book: allow each child to review their pictures and print off or create a personal photobook of their favorites.

Nature Journal: Add your nature photos to your nature journal.

Books

Castella, K., and B. Boyl. 2006. Discovering Nature's Alphabet. Heyday Books.

Criswell, S. G., et al. 1996. Nature Through Science and Art. McGraw-Hill Companies.

Hass, R. and P. Michael. 2008. River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things. Milkweed Editions.

Lepp, G., and K. V. Lepp. 2010. Wildlife Photography: Stories from the Field. Lark Books NC.

Sweet, T. 2010. Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process. Stackpole Books.

Links

11 Simple Tips for Kids: Nature Photography

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/PhotoZone/Archives/2010/Kids-photo-tips.aspx

National Geographic Kids: Photography Tips for Kids

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/activities/moreactivities/photography101/

Nature Mom: Kids ‘n Cameras: Five Tips for Introducing Children to Photography

http://anaturemom.com/2012/07/01/kids-n-cameras-five-tips-for-introducing-photography-to-children/

Great American Backyard Campout 2014

The annual Great American Backyard Campout is Saturday June 28 this year! Get your camping gear ready and join the nation as we sleep under the stars! http://www.nwf.org/Great-American-Backyard-Campout.aspx

Your backyard is the perfect place to try camping with kids. It provides a great opportunity to learn how to pitch a tent, build a campfire, and introduce kids to the fun of sleeping in a tent while the comforts of home are only steps away. Have you already introduced your kids to camping? Backyard camping is still fun for the whole family – even kids who have been camping at campground love the excitement of sleeping in a tent in their own backyard!

http://www.nwf.org/Great-American-Backyard-Campout/Get-Ready.aspx

25 Delicious Camping Recipes

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/06/25-delicious-camping-recipes.html

Campfire Cooking

http://koa.com/camping-recipes/campfire-cooking/

Kids Camping: Camp Songs

http://www.kidscamping.com/songs/camp-songs

Kids Camping: Camp Games

http://www.kidscamping.com/fun-and-games/camp-games

Kids Camping: Campfire Safety

http://www.kidscamping.com/safety/campfire-safety

Cicada Mania!

There is a wonderful and exciting insect event taking place across Iowa this year - 17 year periodical cicadas are emerging!  This event won’t take place again until 2031! Get out in your backyard, or local park and explore the world of these fascinating insects!

17-year periodical cicadas are among the longest lived insects in the world and are the longest lived insects in North America. Nearly their entire life is spent underground as a nymph, their immature form, before emerging and molting into their adult form.  They live in their adult form for about 4-6 weeks during which time they will mate and the female will lay eggs, before they die.

There are also species of annual cicadas which have broods that hatch every year or every other year. What sets the periodical cicadas apart and makes them so special are the synchronized hatches every 13 or 17 years as various broods come into maturity at once.

Periodical cicadas, genus Magicicada, are frequently and incorrectly referred to as “locusts”. Periodical cicadas are actually more closely related to leafhoppers and are in the insect order Hemiptera while true locusts are in the order Orthoptera and are related to grasshoppers.

Periodical cicada nymphs live underground for 17 years feeding on the juices of plant roots.  The nymphs of periodical cicadas undergo 5 instar stages or molts as they grow and develop.  During a hatch year periodical cicada nymphs emerge on warm spring evenings once the soil temperature has reached 63° F. They climb onto nearby vegetation to molt on last time and complete their transformation into adult cicadas, called imago. After they molt they are whitish and their exoskeleton is soft.  After about an hour their exoskeleton will harden and darken. Adults have red eyes and a black dorsal thorax. Their wings are translucent and have orange veins. The undersides of their abdomens are black, orange, or striped with orange and black depending on the species. They average 1 to 1.5 inches in length. Females are slightly larger than males.

Cicadas are well known for their song or “buzz” male cicadas sing to attract a mate. Their loud buzzing or drumming sound is produced by two shell-like “drums” or tymbals located along the sides of their abdomens. Strong muscles vibrate these drum membranes several times per second producing the incessant loud buzzing sound they are well known for.  A group of males in a “chorus” tree can reach 100 decibels!

After mating the female cicada will cut V-shape slits in the bark of young twigs, laying approximately 20 eggs in each. She will lay approximately 600 eggs during the mating season. The cicada eggs will hatch after about 6 to 10 weeks and the newborn nymphs will drop to the ground where they will burrow down and find tree roots to feed off of. They will spend the next 17 years of their lives underground feeding, growing and developing before they emerge to start the cycle again! In many countries cicadas are seen as a symbol of rebirth.

Cicadas do not bite or sting. Their mouth parts are made for piercing plants and sucking sap. Theoretically they could “pierce” your skin if they were to mistake you for a tree, but the chances of that happening are highly unlikely. Even if this were to happen they do not possess venom nor do they carry diseases that can harm humans.

Cicadas also do not pose a serious threat to mature vegetation. There may be isolated areas of sapling die-off, or of mature trees that have twig die-off, but overall cicadas do not have a detrimental effect to forest and woodland health.

In many regions of the world cicadas are considered a delicacy and are eaten in both savory meals and in sweets. Care to delve into the world of edible insects? Below is a recipe to try!

Candied Cicadas

1 pound cicadas

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

3 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spread cicadas in a single layer over a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the cicadas start to turn brown and are thoroughly dried out.

Stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for eight minutes, or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage at 236°F (113°C). Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla immediately.

Add cicadas to sugar syrup, and stir to coat well. Spoon onto waxed paper, and immediately separate cicadas with a fork. Cool and store in airtight containers.

Singing Cicada Craft

http://www.5orangepotatoes.com/blog/2009/09/03/singing-cicadas-craft/

Take the Kids to the Park

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is participating in the national effort this weekend to get children into parks.

National Kids to Parks Day is held the third Saturday in May as part of an ongoing effort to connect youth with nature and encourage them to explore outdoors, especially at parks in their communities.  A list of events registered in each state is available at http://parktrust.org/kidstoparks.

To add an event, go to http://parktrust.org/kidstoparks/national-kids-to-parks-day/host-an-event.

The DNR has been promoting reconnecting Iowans with their natural resources through Take it Outside and Healthy, Happy Outdoors campaign.

“We want every Iowan to know that spending time outdoors increases physical activity and reduces stress,” said Todd Coffelt, chief of the Iowa DNR’s State Parks Bureau.

For information on Iowa State Parks, go to www.iowadnr.gov/parks

“No matter where they live, Iowans can find places to spend outside that are close to home,” Coffelt said.

April is National Frog Month!

Celebrate this frog-tastic month with these fun froggy activities:

• Observe frogs in a pond or wetland.
• Read books about frogs.
• Make a frog craft.
• Write a poem about frogs.
• Play frog hopscotch.
• Pick up garbage at your local pond to help keep frog habitat clean.

Froggy crafts
Frog Life Cycle Craft: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mfroglifecycle.htm
Frog Puppet: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mpfrog.html

Books about frogs
Arnosky, J. 2002. All About Frogs. Scholastic, Inc.
Beltz, E. 2009. Frogs: Inside Their Remarkable World. Firefly Books, Limited.
Heller, R. 1995. How to Hide a Meadow Frog and Other Amphibians. Groslett & Dunlap.
Marent, T., and T. Jackson. 2010. Frog: A Photographic Portrait. DK Publishing, Inc.
Naden, C.J. 1972. Let's Find Out About Frogs. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Stewart, M., and H. Bond. 2010. A Place for Frogs. Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.

Fun Frog Facts

• Instead of drinking water, frogs soak it into their body through their skin.
• Frogs breathe through their nostrils, but they absorb about half the air they need through their skin.
• Frogs use their sticky, muscular tongue to catch and swallow food.
• Frogs can see forwards, sideways and upwards all at the same timeFrogs actually use their eyes to help them swallow food.
  

Want to do more?
April 25th is Save the Frogs Day! Learn more at: http://www.savethefrogs.com/

Nature Poetry

April is National Poetry Month! Celebrate with a study of nature poetry!

Ask children if they know what poetry is? Have they heard poems? Are books poems? Discuss. Read poems about nature and wildlife (see book list below). Listen to nature songs and music - since songs are poems set to music! Try “Billy B” Brennan, Stan Slaughter, or The Banana Slug String Band.

As a class, create your own illustrated nature poetry book. Take kids on a nature walk, find a quiet place to sit, listen, and reflect. Record students’ observations and feelings. Allow children time to draw pictures of what they see or how they feel while in nature. When you return to the classroom, as a class, create/write poems from the children’s observations. Compile a book of the children’s drawings and poetry.

Book Lists

Educator Book List

Anderson, P. 1996. Henry David Thoreau: American Naturalist. Scholastic Library Publishing.

Bosselaar, L., and E. Hiestand. 2000. Urban Nature: Poems About Wildlife in the City. Milkweed Editions.

Ferra, L., and D. Boardman. 1994. A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry from Nature. Smith, Gibbs Publisher.

Hass, R. and P. Michael. 2008. River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things. Milkweed Editions.

Leopold, A. 1989. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press.

Leslie, C. W., and C. E. Roth. 2003. Keeping a Nature Journal. Storey Books.

Leslie, C. W. 2003. Nature Journal: A Guided Journal for Illustrating and Recording Your Observations of the Natural World. Storey Books.

Muir, J. 1997. John Muir: Nature Writings. Penguin Group.

Shamir, I. 1999. Poet-Tree, the Wilderness I am. Better World Press, Inc.

Children’s Book List

Florian, D. 2002. Insectlopedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Florian, D. 2005. Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Florian, D. 2004. Mammalabilia. Voyager Books.

Florian, D. 2000. On the Wing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

George, K. O., and K. Kiesler. 2007. Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Glaser, L., E. Kleven. 2002. Our Big Home: An Earth Poem. Lerner Publishing Group.

Harrison, M., and C. Stuart-Clark. 1992. The Oxford Book of Animal Poems. Oxford University Press.

Heard, G., and J.O. Dewey. 1997. Creatures of the Earth, Sea, and Sky: Poems. Boyds Mills Press.

Paladino, C. 1993. Land, Sea, and Sky: Poems to Celebrate the Earth. Little, Brown & Company.

Paolilli, P. and D. Brewer. 2001. Silver Seeds: A Book of Nature Poems. Viking.

Peters, L. W., and C. Felstead. 2003. Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up. HarperCollins Publishers.

Ryder, J., and D. Nolan. 1990. Under Your Feet. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Sidman, J., and B. Prange. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Sidman, J., and R. Allen. 2014. Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

VanDerwater, A. L., and R. Gourley. 2013. Forest Has a Song: Poems. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Worth, V., and S. Jenkins. 2007. Animal Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Yolen, J. and J. Stemple. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Boyds Mills Press.

Helping our Native Pollinators

What is Pollination?

Pollination is the process where plants receive pollen from other plants of the same species so they can reproduce and form seeds. Many plants are pollinated by animals, and most of the animal pollinators are insects. The relationship between plants and their insect pollinators is beneficial to both the plant and the pollinator. The insect pollinator receives food, usually in the form of nectar, while it spreads pollen from plant to plant aiding the plants reproduction. Pollination is really just a “happy accident” that happens when an insect visits a flower to get food. The insects do not know they are pollinating plants as they are finding food for themselves.

Insects have been pollinating plants for approximately 140 million years, since the dawn of angiosperms (flowering plants). Flowering plants lure pollinators to them with scent, visual cues, and food. Learn more about the process of pollination: The Plant Pollination Process: http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/plant-pollination-process.html

Why We Need Pollinators

More than one-third of our food supply depends on pollinators. Without pollinators there would be no apples, onions, oranges, pumpkins, and many other fruit and vegetables. There would be no coffee, chocolate, nuts, or cotton for our clothes. Without pollinators our world would be a much different place than it is right now.

Produce Section With And Without Bees

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/supermarket-without-bees_n_3442938.html

List of crop plants pollinated by bees

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees

Why you should be more worried about pollination than a bee sting

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/why-you-should-be-more-worried-about-pollination-than-a

Flower Dissection

Gather flowers from your yard or visit a local flower shop and get flowers to dissect. Cut the flowers in half. Identify the different parts and talk about what they are and how pollination works. Ask children if they have seen bees or butterflies on flowers? Why do they think they were on the flowers?

Pollination Crafts

Create tissue paper flowers. Have children draw pictures of pollinators to glue to their flowers.

Pollination Field Trip

Visit a local apple orchard, garden, or even walk around your schoolyard this spring and observe how many pollinators you can find. Make a chart to keep track of different kinds (bee, butterfly, moth, beetle, etc).

Gardening for Pollinators

Plan and plant a school garden for pollinators. Already have a school garden? Add plants for pollinators or devote a section to pollinators. Even growing a few pollinator-friendly plants in containers can be beneficial!

Blank Park Zoo: Plant. Grow. Fly.

http://www.blankparkzoo.com/en/conservation/plant_grow_fly/

Become part of a new conservation initiative to help protect native pollinators! Whether you have several acres, a small back yard, a schoolyard, or even a business courtyard – you can make a difference! Plant seeds, watch them grow, and help our native pollinators thrive!

Other things you can do to support pollinators:     

• Avoid or limit pesticide use at home and never use a neonicotinoid pesticide
• Buy organic produce
• Provide nesting sites, such as bee nesting blocks

Helpful Links

Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation – Looking out for Iowa: Native Pollinators

http://www.inhf.org/lookingoutforiowa-native-pollinators.cfm

Native Pollinators: The Amazing World of Native Pollinators

http://nativepollinator.com/

Native Bee Conservancy: Saving Our Wild Pollinators

http://www.nativebeeconservancy.org/

Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/BeeBasics.pdf

Bug Guide: Native Bees of North America

http://bugguide.net/node/view/475348

Animal Pollination

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/index.shtml

USDA Forest Service: Gardening for Pollinators

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/gardening.shtml

Planting a Pollinator Garden

http://www.kidsgardening.org/node/3029

The Xerces Society: Pollinator Gardens

http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/gardens/

Garden for Wildlife

http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx

White House Gets “First-Ever” Pollinator Garden, Milkweed Planted at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/monikamaeckle/2014/04/white-house-gets-first-ever-pollinator-garden-milkweed-planted-at-1600-pennsylvania-ave/

Book List

Educator Reference

Barth, F. G., and M. A. Biedermann-Thorson. 1991. Insects and Flowers: The Biology of a Partnership. Princeton University Press.

The Xerces Society . 2011. Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat. Storey Books.

Children’s Books

Galvin, L.G., and K. Kest. 2000. Bumblebee at Apple Tree Lane. Soundprints.

Heiligman, D., and B. Weissman. 1996. From Caterpillar to Butterfly. HarperCollins Publishers.

Hoff, M. K. 2004. Pollination. The Creative Company.

Lawrence, E. 2012. What Lily Gets from Bee: And Other Pollination Facts. Bearport Publishing Company, Inc.

Schaefer, L. M., and A. Richardson. 2001. Butterflies: Pollinators and Nectar-Sippers. Capstone Press.

Slade, S., and C. Schwartz. 2010. What If There Were No Bees? Capstone Press.

Lauber, P., and J. Wexler. 1986. From Flower to Flower: Animals and Pollination. Random House Children’s Books.