The State of Kansas Wants Kids to Play Outside

On April 13, 2009, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius issued an Executive Order creating the Kansas Coalition for Children in Nature (KCCN).  This group was tasked with fostering appreciation, understanding and involvement between Kansas youth and the outdoors.

“Kansas is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty and this coalition will work to make sure Kansas children experience all that our state has to offer,” Sebelius said. “Environmental education is the first step toward helping our children learn to protect and preserve our planet.”

KCCN is looking for volunteers to help develop plans for insuring that all Kansas kids have opportunities to: a) learn and play outdoors and b) gain the health benefits of learning and playing outdoors.

Click here to see a copy of the Executive Order or to find out how to volunteer for a working group.

 

The Science of Leaves

Are you sick of all the leaves everywhere yet? Have you raked and re-raked them into paths with your kids? I feel like I want to write this whole post saying something along the lines of, “GET OUT THERE AND DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING, WITH THE LITTLE BIT OF NICE WEATHER LEFT BEFORE WINTER NASTINESS HITS!!!” But I wouldn’t want to yell like that and scare you off.

Anyway, back to the leaves. If you are ready to get those leaves off the ground, it can turn into a fun science experiment with older kids. Given enough time and very little effort, those leaves will break down into beautiful leaf mold or compost. All you have to do is stack the leaves in a pile in an out-of-the-way corner of your yard. (Yes, some kind of wire or wood bin would be a good idea, given our wind.) The more the leaves are chopped up, the more quickly they decompose. Add some soil, grass clippings, or fertilizer and things will progress even faster.

Okay, that’s great, but how do you get the kids involved?

• If you have space, make it a contest. Let everyone make their own compost pile and decide what to put in it – big leaves, chopped leaves, grass clippings, weeds, soil, vegetable scraps, etc. See who gets compost first!
• Throwing chopped leaves into a bin can be made into a game for younger children.
• Play a guessing game with your leaf compost pile. Guess how big (or small) the pile will be by spring. Ask your kids to guess what they might find in the pile when spring comes.
• If your kids have a school science fair coming up, there are a multitude of opportunities here. You could get a compost thermometer and have them record the internal temperature of the pile each week, monitor the moisture level, and look for worms, insects, and other signs of life.
• When spring comes (or even one of those really warm days in February), have the kids dig through the pile to find “buried treasure.” You could send them searching for worms or even something you hid in the pile for them to find. You get the benefit of the compost pile getting turned without the kids knowing they were working!

Who knew there was such a multitude of opportunities from just a pile of leaves?

 

Rake a Path

This is a variation on the “Mow a Path” post

If you are lucky (or unlucky) enough to have a yard covered in leaves, now is the time to get creative.  At our house, the leaves have been off the trees for a couple of weeks.  The leaves have turned soggy and are no longer fluffy and crisp and good for jumping in.

This is our family’s time to blaze a trail!  I have used a rake the last few times but got the mower our for the wide paths shown in the pictures.

Once the leaves are moved out of the way, other surprises may appear.  Look for small insects, little green plants, or even worm castings (that is worm poop!).

Rake or mow paths to items of interest in your yard. Younger children would enjoy going on a color hike along their new trail.  Hand them three or four crayons and see of they can match up a color during their backyard “expedition.”   Older children will often invent “chase” games with siblings.

Have fun and be creative!  See what your kids come up with along their nature trail.  If they really enjoy this activity, remember that snow season is coming soon with many more trail opportunities.

 

Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns!

Halloween is often cited as a favorite holiday by young children.  You may have traditions around dressing up, trick-or-treating, or pumpkin carving.  You may also associate the holiday with fall flavors such as apple cider, pumpkin bread, and carmel apples.  This year, try to expand upon your normal traditions and make new memories.  Remember to refresh yourself on Halloween Safety and perhaps try a challenging design for a jack-o-lantern on your porch or windowsill. 

For more Halloween fun visit:
22 Inspirational Jack-O-Lanterns
Halloween.com

 

Share Your Ideas!

Over at The Demo Garden Blog, we are hosting some polls to get ideas for what the community would like to see planted next year. If you vote in the polls and then leave a comment, you will be entered into a drawing for a free packet of seeds! Head on over to the Garden Polls!

 

Falling for Fishing

While fall brings a chill to both the air and water, there is still plenty of opportunity for angling:

1.) Crappie are one of the tastiest fish in Kansas, and there are plenty of opportunities to fish for them in and around Wichita.  They are particularly fun to catch in the cooler months of the year, because they keep biting!  Try fishing for them with minnows or with jigs.  For more information about crappie fishing techniques, go here: species explorer.

2.) Trout season in Kansas begins this week and runs from October 15 – April 15 each year.  Rainbow trout are stocked in 3 locations in the Wichita area during the season:  KDOT East Lake, and at Sedgwick County Park’s Vic’s Lake and the Slough Creek Stream on the west side of the park.  Fishing is allowed with flies only at the Slough Creek Stream.

Last year, the rules for Trout fishing changed, allowing kids under 16 to fish for trout without purchasing a trout permit.  In Wichita, trout permit holders are allowed to harvest up to 5 trout per day, but kids without a trout permit can still harvest up to 2 fish per day.  You can still purchase a trout fishing permit for your child, which will allow them to harvest the usual limit of up to 5 per day.

Some additional information about fishing locations can be found here: www.fishwichita.org and more information about taking your family fishing and fishing techniques can be found here:  www.takemefishing.org

 

Spooky Birds!

This time of year we look forward to scary stories and spine tingling tales.  Join the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (which means the study of birds) in their Halloween environmental challenge!

This month’s contest is called “A Murder of Crows and Other Spooky Bird Tales.” Believe it or not, a large group of crows is called a “murder,” but there’s nothing really scary about it. Crows are very intelligent, family-oriented birds.

Still, sometimes birds do things that seem pretty spooky and strange. So for this challenge: get outside and take photos, do a painting, write a story or poem, even shoot a video showing crows, pigeons, starlings, an owl, or any kind of bird doing something puzzling or strange to you. Then Cornell will reveal what the behaviors are really all about. There’s usually a perfectly natural, non-scary explanation!

Check out the “Celebrate Urban Birds” website for entry details.

 

Take a Child Outside Week

September 24—September 30, 2009

Take A Child Outside Week is a program designed to help break down obstacles that keep children from discovering the natural world.

By arming parents, teachers and other caregivers with resources on outdoor activities, the Take A Child Outside initiative’s goal is to help children across the country develop a better understanding and appreciation of the environment in which they live, and a burgeoning enthusiasm for its exploration.

Pledge to take a child outside, find outdoor activities, or look for other participating agencies at www.takeachildoutside.org

 

Tell Us What You Think!

The “g2g Outside” team wants to know what you thought about the Summer 2009 events so that we can make 2010 even more fun!

The the short 10-question survey usling the link below:

Click Here to take survey

 

Watch Wall-E and Learn Environmental Stewardship!

RECYCLE Wichita – Family Program

While viewing the Pixar film, “Wall-E”, children will be entertained with the many trials of a little robot trying to undo damage from centuries of wasteful human behavior on the planet Earth and get ideas about they can help stop “today’s” Earth from coming to such a predicament. Parents can expand on the lessons learned in the film and develop family activities to enforce sustainable behavior both in the home and in the community.

Information will be provided to families about the multitude of recycling and disposal centers available within the Wichita community as well as about other programs which might enrich the lives of their children. A suggested donation of $5 per person will be rewarded with a refreshments voucher on arrival! Additional programming of this nature will be scheduled in response to great attendance for this event!

Special thanks to the Illuminating Engineering Society, Wichita Chapter, for co-sponsoring this event with the USGBC Central Plains Chapter Wichita for USGBC Committee.

When:   Saturday, September 26, 2009 
                10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Central Time Zone

Where:  Old Town Warren Theater
                 353 North Mead Wichita, KS 67202 USA

Attire:   Playtime Casual

RSVP by Friday, September 25, 2009 by visiting this link:
Event Invitation – Online Registration