*UPDATED FOR 2022*
A couple of weeks ago I shared some of our favourite art resources. This week it’s all about nature study.
Some of our favourite home education resources are the ones that get us outside and learning about nature. And we’re always looking for ways to spend more time in the woods and the wilds 🙂
Looking back at 9 Home education routines that brighten up our days, I noticed a major omission – nature study wasn’t on the list. Being outdoors and learning about the natural world bring us so much joy, yet we don’t always make time for them as much as we might.
This post serves two purposes. Not only is it a wonderful opportunity to share some gorgeous resources with you, but it’s also a great way to keep them all in one place for us.
Looking down this list, I noticed a number of UK specific links. No surprise as we’re a UK based family. Although it turns out we’re rather partial to Australian resources too 🙂
But overall, I think we’ve gathered plenty of resources here to spark or fulfil an interest in nature wherever you live in the world. And speaking of locations, we’d love to know where you are, let us know in the comments below.
Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and decide to buy I may earn a small commission from the sale, at no extra cost to you. I am super picky about the links on my site and only share resources I believe will bring value to your life, most of which I personally use and love. Thanks in advance if you follow any of my links, I hope you find them helpful.
Let’s dig in and flex those green fingers…
Getting started with nature study…
Brave Writer : Nature Journaling Part of the wonderful Brave Writer Lifestyle, a totally free program of activities designed to promote a language rich lifestyle.
Exploring Nature with Children A complete year-long curriculum designed to guide you through an entire year of nature study. But super-accessible to dip in and out whenever you feel the need for a bit of seasonal inspiration. Every time we pick this up we learn something new and we especially appreciate the poetry and art highlighted each month.
NurtureStore. Cathy’s site is jam-packed with activities and she has a huge section devoted to nature. If you’re looking for advice on starting a nature journal, easy nature walk ideas, or you just fancy a forest treasure hunt, you’ll find all that and much more. One of our absolute favourite sites, we go back to this one again and again.
Nature Study Hacking has a number of themed booklets available to buy. Each focuses on a particular topic, mammals, trees, stars and skies among them. All designed to encourage the practice of nature journaling. Joy also has a great series of posts about getting started with nature study, including info on how to do nature study with your children and like it.
FutureLearn is one of our favourite online learning platforms and has courses on all kinds of topics. Between us we’ve taken plenty of these over the years but some of the most fun ones have been about nature and the environment. Their courses are free with the possibility to upgrade for extended access and certificates of achievement.
If you’re feeling like this nature study business doesn’t come all that naturally to you, I get it. Can’t we just stay home and read a book, I hear you cry – or was that just me 🙂 Reading about nature certainly counts and we’re getting to books very soon!
But we all benefit from taking our nature study outside as much as we can. And if you need a little bit of encouragement in that direction, keep reading and you’ll find some resources especially for you 🙂
More nature study resources…
Nature Journal Calendars by Heather from Blog, She Wrote. A whole years worth of timely nature study prompts in a fab free download.
A Year of Simple Nature Study Activities for Kids
John Muir Laws : Nature Stewardship through Science, Education and Art
A guide to garden birds from Simon King
WWF Learn to Love Nature resources
RSPB Learning resources. Featuring a weekly newsletter, Notes on Nature
Some beautiful books…
Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
Plant, Sow, Make and Grow by Esther Coombs
I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast : A celebration of plants around the world by Michael Holland
Nature Trail: A joyful rhyming celebration of the natural wonders on our doorstep by Benjamin Zephaniah
The Bumper Book of Nature by Stephen Moss
Wonderland : A year of Britain’s wildlife Day by Day by Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss
National Trust 2021 Nature month-by-month : A Children’s Almanac
Green Fingers and Muddy Boots : A year in the garden for children and families by Ivor Santor
Nature : A Seasonal Colouring Book
RSPB Wild Nature Colouring Book
A fabulous post containing tons of books about nature journaling A bumper post from My Little Poppies, and it’s not just about books! Keep scrolling down and you’ll find tons of helpful links, including some ideas for gameschooling your nature study 🙂
Some YouTube channels we love…
Maddie Moate Maddie’s channel is devoted to all things science and features plenty of nature related content, along with all episodes of Let’s Go Live with Greg Foot.
Brave Wilderness A world away from most of the nature we experience on a daily basis but loads of fun animal encounters that are sure to inspire a sense of adventure 🙂
Crash Course, we’re currently enjoying the Zoology course. But they also have Anatomy, Biology, Ecology and so much more.
More Crash Course, especially for kids this time. Includes Earth Science and Life Science courses.
Some podcasts we’ve recently discovered…
Noisy by Nature Listening to the noise of Australian nature with fun facts and explanations.
Nature Track More Australian soundscapes, but these are uninterrupted and immersive. Perfect for relaxation, concentration and generally creating a natural ambience 🌳
Naturalist Kids Podcast More from Joy at Nature Study Hacking.
And if you’re still a little hesitant…
30 days of rewilding : Find your place in nature and watch your family bloom by Lucy AitkenRead. A month of daily readings for busy parents, each with quick and easy to-dos to help us reconnect with nature.
Finding it hard to do nature study? Try a weed survey Some encouraging words from Nature Study Australia 🙂
Maybe a challenge might help. How about 1000 hours outside? Download a free tracker and see those hours spent outside start racking up 🙂
And that’s it for now. I’ll keep coming back and adding to these resource lists as we remember old favourites and discover new ones. If you have any suggestions for nature study resources, please share them in the comments, we love to hear from you x