Environmental educator and naturalist Adrienne Olmstead wanted to see that change. Olmstead believes there's no substitute for experiencing creepy, crawly, slimy things in one's own backyard. The 176-page book is designed for children ages 8 and up to observe, participate, sketch, count, reflect and write about nature and themselves. Olmstead began creating nature journals for children when she was hired by a water agency to build an education program about the Russian River watershed in California. The journal component of the program was so successful that she decided to launch a book that kids could use in different eco-systems across the country.
Children take a real ownership in their journals.
It gets very personal for them. Exploration activities, such as the woodland scavenger hunt, encourage children to see smell, feel and hear nature. The book also includes plenty of room for drawings and listing the wildlife they observe, as well as a section on safety and a glossary of terms. I really like banana slugs. Olmstead anticipates that her book will be a useful tool for educators throughout the country.