If you’re looking to take advantage of time to be outside during the summer months with your Cloverbuds, consider a nature scavenger hunt.

The Nature Connection

Being out in nature has positive benefits for both physical and mental health. Direct exposure to nature and the outdoors has been found to have a restorative and calming effect. It shifts focus, provides an escape, and may facilitate reflection. Although research hasn’t been able to pin down why there is such a health benefit, it could be due to an increase in physical activity. In addition, time spent in nature during childhood is associated with connectedness with nature, increased pro-environmental attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviors. However, we also know that children are spending less time outdoors than previous generations.

Scavenger Hunts: What and Why

A scavenger hunt is a game that starts with a prepared list of specific objects for participants to gather or locate. Scavenger hunts are more than just a way to keep children busy, they are a way to build critical thinking skills and have fun at the same time.

There are many reasons to consider a scavenger hunt.

• They don’t require many supplies.
• They can be as simple or elaborate as you want.
• They can be played with individuals or with teams.
• They can be customized to a variety of age groups.
• They are adaptable to small or large groups.
• They can be played in various ways.

Adult leaders can plan the scavenger hunt or turn it over to teen leaders to create it (given some parameters). To create a scavenger hunt, you’ll need to decide on the game parameters. Make sure to define if anything is off limits. Then follow these basic steps.

1. Make a list of items for participants to find or things to do. A Google search will also turn up printable scavenger hunt sheets. There are some nature-related scavenger hunts to check out.
2. Define the search area (backyard, neighborhood, park, etc.).
3. Decide on a time limit for completion.
4. Decide how you will complete the game: Is it finding the most items? Or is the goal for everyone to find the items and share what they found?

Scavenger Hunt Ideas

• Items in nature: leaf, flower, feather, rock, twig, acorn, pinecone, bird’s nest, animal tracks, etc. Check out these sites for some ideas for a nature scavenger hunt.
  • Green Child Magazine
  • Very Well Family
  • Free Kids Crafts
• Items that are a particular color or shape
• Items that involve the senses: something smooth, something soft, something you can hear, something you can smell, etc.
• Items to correspond to letters of the alphabet
• Mix and match to add some challenge: a yellow flower, a smooth stone, a blue bird.
• If you don’t want to or can’t remove items from their natural environment, take photos.

Ways to Extend the Learning

• Mindfulness is a way to bring connection between the brain, body, and behavior. This Iowa State University activity sheet for Mindful Nature Hike Bingo provides a lesson plan for making the connection between nature and mindfulness.
• Books are always a good way to introduce or extend the learning on a topic. This site gives suggestions for books about nature.
• Project Learn Tree© has 12 nature walk activities, including a scavenger hunt.

Whatever you decide for your scavenger hunt, have fun doing it!

References

DeVille, N. V., Tomasso, L. P., Stoddard, O. P., Wilt, G. E., Horton, T. H., Wolf, K. L., Brymer, E., Kahn, P. H., Jr., & James, P. (2021). Time spent in nature is associated with increased pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), Article 7498. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147498

Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., De Vries, S., & Frumkin, H. (2014). Nature and health. Annual Review of Public Health, 35, 207–228. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182443

Jiminez, M. P., DeVille, N. V., Elliott, E. G., Schiff, J. E., Wilt, G. E., Hart, J. E., & James, P. (2021). Associations between nature exposure and health: A review of the evidence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(9), Article 4790. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094790

Larson, L., R., Szczytko, R., Bowers, E. P., Stephens, L. E., Stephenson, K. T., & Floyd, M. F. (2019). Outdoor time, screen time, and connection to nature: Troubling trends among rural youth? Environment and Behavior, 51(8), 966–991. https://doi.org/10.1177/001391651880668

Masterton, W., Carver, H., Parkes, T., & Park, K. (2020). Greenspace interventions for mental health in clinical and non-clinical populations: What works, for whom, and in what circumstances? Health and Place, 64, Article 102338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102338

Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20237

 Sheldrake, R., & Reiss, M. J. (2023). Primary children’s views about appreciating, supporting, and learning about nature. Journal of Biological Education, 57(2), 401–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2021.1909643

Tillman, S., Button, B., Coen, S. E., & Gilliland, J. A. (2019). ‘Nature makes people happy, that’s what it sort of means’: Children’s definitions and perceptions of nature in rural Northwestern Ontario. Children’s Georgraphies, 17(6), 705–718. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2018.1550572

Van Heel, B. F., van den Born, R. J. G., & Aarts, N. (2023). Nature experiences in childhood as a driver of connectedness with nature and action for nature: A review. Ecopsychology. Published online March 7, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2022.0080