{"id":211,"date":"2022-02-04T17:24:26","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=50839"},"modified":"2022-02-04T18:11:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T17:11:14","slug":"how-to-do-a-nature-scavenger-hunt-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/how-to-do-a-nature-scavenger-hunt-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"How to do a nature scavenger hunt for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Ben Hoare\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 04 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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If you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n

Children are hard-wired to notice and play with natural things. Even soil. They can\u2019t 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\u2019t matter if the stuff is dirty or in pieces: in it all goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems there is something deeply human about gathering and collecting,\u201d says journalist Lucy Jones. Her book The Nature Seed: How to Raise Adventurous and Nurturing Kids<\/em><\/a>, co-authored with forest-school leader Kenneth Greenway, is all about hands-on appreciation of the wild world. \u201cNature is so tactile,\u201d she writes. \u201cThere are always things for children to stroke, hold, touch or run between fingers and smell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like foraging, when collecting natural objects of any kind, it\u2019s important to use common sense and not take too much. Wild flowers and plants on nature reserves should be left well alone \u2013 Jones recommends stroking instead to cultivate a sense of gratitude and a \u201ccare ethic for the land.\u201d If in doubt, consider photos or drawings.<\/p>\n

10 most amazing natural objects to find in Britain:<\/h2>\n

1. Jay wing feather<\/h3>\n
\""Jay\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jay feather (<\/em>Garrulus glandarius) are half black-grey, half blue and white striped. \u00a9 Alamy<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This small feather, a greater covert covering the base of flight feathers, is from a Eurasian jay\u2019s wing. Incredibly, its fabulous blue is an optical illusion created by the feather structure, not by pigment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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