How to do a nature scavenger hunt for kids

By Ben Hoare

Published: Friday, 04 February 2022 at 12:00 am

If you’re looking for a holiday activity that brings extra elements to a walk, a natural treasure hunt is a fantastic way to fire up the imagination of children and adults alike.

Children are hard-wired to notice and play with natural things. Even soil. They can’t help it. Magpie-like, if left to their own devices, they soon have pockets full of feathers, seeds, flowers, stones, bones, shells or whatever else takes their fancy. It doesn’t matter if the stuff is dirty or in pieces: in it all goes.

“It seems there is something deeply human about gathering and collecting,” says journalist Lucy Jones. Her book The Nature Seed: How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids, co-authored with forest-school leader Kenneth Greenway, is all about hands-on appreciation of the wild world. “Nature is so tactile,” she writes. “There are always things for children to stroke, hold, touch or run between fingers and smell.”

Like foraging, when collecting natural objects of any kind, it’s important to use common sense and not take too much. Wild flowers and plants on nature reserves should be left well alone – Jones recommends stroking instead to cultivate a sense of gratitude and a “care ethic for the land.” If in doubt, consider photos or drawings.