Are field trips and educator trainings offered at Blaine Wetland Sanctuary? Yes, the next course offering of “Environmental STEM at Blaine Wetland Sanctuary,” a 3-hour course for educators, is on Saturday, August 29th from 9am-12pm. Future trainings will take place throughout 2020 and 2021. Registration is required and can be done through the City of Blaine […]
35 Ways to Notice Nature this July… July is a great month to hone your noticing skills! Sit and listen. Watch the clouds. Count the ants. Smell the flowers. Can you notice, find, or create everything on this “Noticing Nature” list for July? Give this a try… an easy scavenger hunt for your neighborhood park. Find an object […]
1. Consider a “Bee Lawn” in care of pollinators. Truth: bugs are beneficial. Planet earth, including your food supply and neighborhood bird population would not be the same without them. Here are a few resources to check out: “Where Have All the Insects Gone?” National Geographic article at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2020/05/where-have-all-the-insects-gone-feature/ Pollinate Minnesota at https://www.pollinatemn.org Your Lawn […]
This list of 50 ways to celebrate Earth Day’s birthday combines knowledge to action along with being and noticing nature where we live.
Students and families notice nature in their neighborhoods then plan a green trip to a far-off, very different place. This project taps into interdisciplinary and enviroSTEM strategies to bring together math, reading, science, social studies in a playful way…all for family fun during the COVID-19 days of shelter-in-place.
Growing Green Kids City & Systems Engineering Design Challenge™ Welcome to the Growing Green Kids City & Systems Engineering Design Challenge™! This playful lesson series is designed especially for kids and families practicing “social distancing” during March/April of 2020. All ages are welcome to participate. Science, math, reading, art, engineering, social studies, leadership and more are all tied together in […]
December 2019 Water and Salt Dance Party When water and salt get together its like a dance party! When we mix salt with water there are ways we can use chemistry tricks to our human advantage… but that can turn into a party-gone-bad in certain situations too. Find out more here, even a tasty experiment […]
Lance Leaf Violets and the Superheroes Saving Them Sept 2019 The rare plants were doomed without options… until a group of volunteers swooped in to gather them. The bulldozers where taking out trees and moving earth in preparation for a new housing development. With just a few days notice, the group of about 20 scientists, gardeners, […]
3 Lessons from the 2019 State Fair STATE FAIR LESSON 1: Pronto Pups & Liatris. Don’t those Blazing Star prairie plants look like giant purple pronto pups? One lesson from the fair that I saw over and over again is that PLAY IS POWERFUL for people of all ages. From the Midway to art exhibits, giant […]
Kids leading with seeds, plants & nature play! Plants as Superheroes is a package project for your school, child care center, library, or community group. Growing Green Hearts works will adapt the environmental STEM learning for age group, site, and even intergenerational groups. Growing Green Hearts is all about play, learning, and loving nature. And […]
