As many people across the country are spending more time at home and in their neighborhoods due to stay-at-home orders and the closure of cherished outdoor spaces, it’s a great time to develop a deeper appreciation for all of the nature close to home. Taking a socially-distanced walk around your neighborhood is a great way to get out of the house, stretch your legs, and see some of the wonder of the natural world in your own backyard. Here is a list of 10 ways to appreciate nature on a walk around your neighborhood.
Identify a plant you don’t know
Find a cool-looking (or boring-looking!) plant on your neighborhood walk that you can’t identify, and try and figure out what it is. This website has a question-by-question approach to narrow down and identify your mystery plant, and PlantSnap and PlantNet have apps that are intended to help identify plants and flowers via photograph.
Listen for bird calls
A telltale sign of the advent of spring is birds chirping. On your walk, see how many distinct types of bird you can distinguish by their calls, and how many of those you can particularly identify. If you have a bird call stuck in your head and you have to know who it’s from, check out Audubon’s field guide for recordings of calls from North American birds. If you’re really hooked, you can follow Audubon’s 8-part guide to birding by ear.
Draw a tree that you find
Pick out your favorite tree on your walk and draw it! Pen, coloring pencil, watercolors, crayon, whatever works best for you. Bonus points for drawing a tree so well that someone else not on the walk with you can identify it.
Find evidence of an animal’s home
Animals in urban areas have homes too! See if you can spot a squirrel or bird’s nest, a rodent’s burrow, a beehive, an anthill, or other animal domicile. Half credit for human-made animal homes like bee hotels or birdhouses (unless you made said home, in which case full credit).
Collect leaves for a leaf rubbing
If you spot a leaf on the ground or a broken-off branch with some pine needles on it, consider bringing it home to make a leaf rubbing image. Leaf rubbing is easy, quick, and requires only a leaf, two pieces of white paper, and a crayon or colored pencil. Leaf rubbing works great with large, flat leaves like those found in the Northeast, but you can try it with any leaf of any kind you find in your neighborhood. Be sure not to take leaves off of any living plants!
Photo of a flower
This one is pretty simple: take a photo of the prettiest or most interesting flower you can find on your walk.
Find a plant with berries or fruit
The advent of spring (and summer) brings out berries in many plants, trying to distribute their seeds far and wide. If you keep a close eye out, you may be able to find a plant with berries or fruit already out. Rhubarb and strawberry are two plants that tend to generate their bounty earlier on, but there’s a huge variety of fruits and berries out there to observe.
Find evidence of an animal: tracks, scat
While on your walk, try and find evidence of an animal you didn’t actually see. This might be a set of tracks in the sand or scat on the ground, or maybe some flattened grass or broken branches if you’re truly an expert tracker.
Identify a bird you don’t know
Some birds are easier identified by their distinctive calls and songs, but many others can be distinguished by sight. Audubon’s field guide is a great resource for visually identifying specific bird species, and a simple set of observations about the birds you see (shape, size, habitat, behavior etc) can go a long way towards narrowing down which group and species your mystery avian friends belong to.
Bud that has not blossomed
One of the best parts about having consistent time outdoors in your neighborhood throughout the spring is the chance to observe changes in nature in your own backyard. On your walk, keep an eye out for a plant bud that has not blossomed into a flower, and keep track of how much time passes before it does.
Share photos and stories from your neighborhood walks with us on social media! Tag us on twitter @EnvAm, Facebook at Environment America or Instagram @EnviroAm, or use the hashtags #NatureInTheNeighborhood and #GreenerTogether.
President & Chairwoman Environment America Research and Policy Center; Senior Vice President, the Public Interest Network
As president of Environment America Research and Policy Center, Wendy is a leading voice for the environment in the United States. She has been quoted in major national, state and local news outlets for nearly 40 years on issues ranging from air pollution to green investing. She is also a senior vice president with The Public Interest Network. She is a founding board member of Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizers, and Green Century Funds, the nation’s first family of fossil fuel free mutual funds. Wendy started with WashPIRG, where she led campaigns to create Washington state’s model toxic waste cleanup program and to stop the nation’s first high-level nuclear waste dump site. She is a 1983 graduate of Whitman College. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and dog and hikes wherever and whenever she can.
Kwa kuwa watu wengi nchini kote wanatumia muda mwingi nyumbani na katika vitongoji vyao kutokana na amri za kukaa nyumbani na kufungwa kwa nafasi za nje zilizopendwa, ni wakati mzuri wa kukuza uthamini mkubwa kwa asili yote karibu na nyumbani. Kutembea karibu na jirani yako ni njia nzuri ya kutoka nje ya nyumba, kunyoosha miguu yako, na kuona baadhi ya maajabu ya ulimwengu wa asili katika bustani yako mwenyewe. Hapa kuna orodha ya njia 10 za kufurahia mazingira ya asili wakati wa kutembea karibu na jirani yako. Kutambua mmea hujui Kupata baridi-kuangalia (au boring-kuangalia!) kupanda juu ya kutembea jirani yako kwamba huwezi kutambua, na kujaribu na kufikiri nini ni. Kwa mfano, tovuti ya PlantSnap inatoa njia ya kugundua mimea na maua kupitia picha. Sikiliza sauti za ndege Ishara inayoonyesha kwamba majira ya kuchipua yamefika ni sauti za ndege. Wakati wa kutembea, angalia aina ngapi za ndege unazoweza kuzitambua kwa sauti zao, na ni ngapi kati ya hizo unazoweza kuzitambua. Kama una wito ndege kukwama katika kichwa chako na una kujua ni kutoka kwa nani, angalia Audubon ya uwanja mwongozo kwa ajili ya rekodi ya wito kutoka ndege Amerika ya Kaskazini. Ikiwa unavutiwa sana, unaweza kufuata mwongozo wa sehemu nane wa Audubon wa kutazama ndege kwa sikio. Kuchora mti kwamba kupata Chagua mti wako favorite juu ya kutembea yako na kuchora! Kalamu, rangi, rangi ya maji, crayons, chochote kinachofanya kazi bora kwa ajili yenu. Pointi za ziada kwa kuchora mti vizuri sana hivi kwamba mtu mwingine asiye kwenye kutembea pamoja nawe aweza kuutambua. Kupata uthibitisho wa nyumba ya mnyama Wanyama katika maeneo ya mijini pia wana nyumba! Angalia kama unaweza kuona kiota cha squirrel au ndege, shimo la panya, kiota cha nyuki, kiota cha chungu, au makao mengine ya wanyama. "Hali ya nusu ya mikopo kwa ajili ya nyumba za wanyama za binadamu kama vile hoteli za nyuki au nyumba za ndege (isipokuwa umefanya nyumba hiyo, katika kesi hiyo mikopo kamili).""" "Kusanya majani kwa ajili ya ""kuchapa majani"" Ikiwa utaona jani chini au tawi lililovunjika na sindano za msonobari juu yake, fikiria kulileta nyumbani ili kufanya picha ya kuchapa majani." Kusugua majani ni rahisi, ni ya haraka, na huhitaji tu jani, vipande viwili vya karatasi nyeupe, na kalamu au penseli ya rangi. Kufuta majani ni mbinu nzuri kwa majani makubwa na tambarare kama yale yanayopatikana kaskazini mashariki, lakini unaweza kujaribu na majani yoyote ya aina yoyote unayopata katika ujirani wako. Hakikisha usichukue majani ya mimea yoyote iliyo hai! Picha ya maua: Picha ya maua mazuri zaidi ambayo unaweza kupata wakati wa kutembea. Kupata mmea na berries au matunda: Kuja kwa spring (na majira ya joto) huleta berries katika mimea mingi, kujaribu kusambaza mbegu zao mbali na pana. Ikiwa utaangalia kwa makini, huenda ukaweza kupata mmea wenye matunda au matunda ambayo tayari yametoka. Rhubarb na strawberry ni mimea miwili ambayo huwa na kuzalisha bounty yao mapema, lakini kuna aina kubwa ya matunda na berries huko nje ya kuchunguza. Kupata ushahidi wa mnyama: nyayo, scat Wakati wa kutembea yako, kujaribu na kupata ushahidi wa mnyama wewe si kweli kuona. Hii inaweza kuwa seti ya nyimbo katika mchanga au scat juu ya ardhi, au labda baadhi ya nyasi flattened au matawi kuvunjwa kama wewe ni kweli mtaalamu tracker. Kutambua ndege usiyemjua Baadhi ya ndege ni rahisi kutambuliwa kwa sauti zao za kipekee na nyimbo, lakini wengine wengi wanaweza kutambuliwa kwa kuona. Mwongozo wa uwanja wa Audubon ni rasilimali kubwa ya kutambua kwa kuona spishi maalum za ndege, na seti rahisi ya uchunguzi kuhusu ndege unaona (umbo, ukubwa, makazi, tabia, nk) inaweza kwenda njia ndefu kuelekea kupunguza kundi na spishi ambayo marafiki wako wa ndege wa siri wanamiliki. Moja ya sehemu bora kuhusu kuwa na muda thabiti nje katika kitongoji chako wakati wote wa majira ya kuchipua ni nafasi ya kuchunguza mabadiliko katika asili katika bustani yako mwenyewe. Wakati wa kutembea, angalia kwa makini mimea ambayo haijachanua maua, na ufuatilia muda unaopita kabla ya maua hayo kuchanua. Kushiriki picha na hadithi kutoka kitongoji yako anatembea na sisi juu ya vyombo vya habari vya kijamii! "Tumia tag kwenye Twitter, Facebook, au Instagram kama ""NatureInTheNeighborhood"" au ""GreenerTogether.""" "Mwanamke huyo ni Mkurugenzi wa Kituo cha Utafiti na Sera cha Mazingira cha Amerika, na Makamu wa Rais wa Umma wa Mtandao wa Maslahi ya Umma, na pia ni ""sauti inayoongoza kwa mazingira nchini Marekani.""" Ametajwa katika vyombo vikubwa vya habari vya kitaifa, vya jimbo na vya mitaa kwa karibu miaka 40 juu ya masuala kuanzia uchafuzi wa hewa hadi uwekezaji wa kijani. Yeye pia ni makamu wa rais mwandamizi na Mtandao wa Maslahi ya Umma. Yeye ni mwanzilishi wa Green Corps, shule ya uwanja kwa waandaaji wa mazingira, na Green Century Funds, familia ya kwanza ya taifa ya mafuta ya mafuta ya mafuta ya mafuta. Wendy alianza na WashPIRC, ambapo aliongoza kampeni za kuunda mfano wa mpango wa kusafisha taka za sumu ya jimbo la Washington na kuzuia eneo la kwanza la kutupa taka za nyuklia za kiwango cha juu nchini. Alihitimu katika Chuo Kikuu cha Whitman mnamo 1983. Anaishi Los Angeles na mumewe na mbwa wake na anatembea popote na wakati wowote awezapo.