Your Earth Day Menu 2022: Small, Medium & Large

Grow Green, Greener, Greenest Earth Day 2022 Heidi M.S. Ferris, April 2022 Little things matter and so do the big!  This list of green ideas is designed to help you, your family and friends move from little green things to medium greener things to larger earth care ideas… all right where you live! Save time, […]

Peas (& Beans) Be With You!

Curiosity and wonder can sprout from watching seeds grow into plants. For this activity, a variety of seeds are placed on a wet paper towel within a plastic bag that is then taped to the window. Instructional videos demonstrating how to do this can be found online, or you can use my 6-step cartoon with […]

Easy Scavenger Hunt For Your Neighborhood Park

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 […]

5 Ways this May to Care for Lawn, Water, Air and Wildlife

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 […]

Growing Green Kid Trip Engineering Design Challenge™

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™

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 […]

Rescue of Rare Plants

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, […]

For You: Plants as Superheroes!

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 […]

Blaine Wetland Sanctuary & Outdoor Learning with GGH

Growing Green Hearts has partnered with the City of Blaine, Minnesota, in creation of environmental STEM programming and curriculum for their Blaine Wetland Sanctuary. The Blaine Wetland Sanctuary is a playful place to exercise for many people.  It’s also a living science research lab for many; and for even more people- it’s a peaceful place […]