YA Eco Mysteries, Memoirs, Novels & Travel
Green Apps to Get Kids Outdoors
We've all heard about the problem of kids—and adults—spending too much time indoors playing video games and not enough time outside moving about. With new “green” apps, outside time and screen time do not have to be mutually exclusive. Instead of battling to keep kids away from gadgets, why not use technology to encourage kids to explore outdoors? My friends who are birding enthusiasts and environmental educators are already doing so, so why not join them. In this blog I suggest apps that will enhance kids’ experience outdoors—as well as our own.
WHAT KIDS FOUND IN THE CREEK—GROSS OUT CAMP
Before reading the list of apps I’ve selected, a word of caution: there’s no gadget that can replace a knowledgeable adult to guide and inspire the kids. We recently spent a beautiful morning outdoors, in the Birmingham Botanical gardens, with kids at Gross Out Camp, sponsored by Fresh Air Family. Guided by Christine Harlan, an ecologist and camp leader, the campers carefully turned over rocks in the creek, literally leaving no stone unturned. They were thrilled to find a variety of salamanders, crawfish, aquatic worms and insects. We also enjoyed a visit with Traci Ingleright—winner of several prestigious awards for her outstanding environmental education programs—as she happily inspired her students to explore and to observe nature.
SEARCHING IN THE CREEK AT GROSS OUT CAMP
Now for my list of “green” apps, which parents, teachers, and nature lovers will enjoy and find should useful.
Apps for Finding Outdoor Places around Birmingham, and the US.
Some of us will have to go farther than others to hear the birds, catch the fireflies, or have a picnic, but there are great city and community parks to explore. There are apps that help you find places to enjoy the outdoors—parks with playgrounds, nature trails, state and national parks and preserves.
* I recommend NatureFind (Free): A guide to finding thousands of nature places and events, wherever you are. Interactive maps, photos and other features guide you to parks, zoos, botanical gardens, nature centers, natural history museums, trails, wildlife refuges and more. Events are affordable and available for all age groups. They range from challenging hikes or kayak trips to events for little kids.
NatureFind for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store
25+ Nature and Wildlife Mobile Apps : Wildlife Promise
Apps to help you Explore Nature.
For your convenience, I’ve divided these apps into three categories.
Apps That will Get Kids Running and Moving:
* Geocaching: Unlock the coordinates and detailed information for 2 million hidden geocache containers across the globe.
Use the Official Geocaching.com App to guide you to cleverly hidden containers just around the corner, or in more than 180 countries:
Geocaching by Groundspeak Inc.
I weave Geocaching into my just published Eco Mystery, The Adventures of The Sizzling Six: Return of the Red-cockaded Clan (book five). To find out what happens to them read the mystery!
* Munzee Hunting: A Munzee is a QR code that can be read by a smart phone and they are all over the place to find in a tech age scavenger hunt. The QR Codes are printed out and can be stuck on signs, buildings, fences, trees and all kinds of other places. They can be hidden inside containers, or printed on objects or stickers. There's a Munzee app for iOS and Android, which you can use to find Munzees and scan them to record your discovery:
Munzee Hunting Gets Kids Outdoors
* Digital Camera Scavenger Hunt. Kids use a list of things they to find and photograph using the digital camera. You can do this activity in a park, on the school grounds, at a summer camp or even in your own yard:
The Digital Camera Scavenger Hunt
App that Gets the Kids Running
DIGITAL CAMERA SCAVENGER HUNT
Apps That identify Living Things in Nature:
* For Identifying birds: Sibley Field Guide, Audubon Guides. MyNature Tracks, for identifying species that you are looking for.
Apps That Record what you Find in nature and Share it as citizen scientists:
ALABAMA LAKE
Nature's Notebook is a citizen science program for observing and recording plant and animal life cycle events, like flowering and bird migration:
Nature Apps to Use in The Field
Itching to go outdoors and try out the apps? Before you let the kids loose, I strongly suggest that you check out the app first so that you can prime the “explorers” to get the most out of the experience. Now go outside and have a blast!