Add some online nature discovery to your day while you’re social distancing! Check this page often for new videos, stories, and more.
See our Top 8 Social Distancing Activities. Have a preschooler? Check out our Nature at Home for Preschoolers activities »
Quarantine Nature Bingo
Now that we’ve all spent plenty of time exploring nature at home, it’s time for a little quarantine nature bingo! Circle everything you’ve done so far and share with your friends. Anything you’re missing (or want to do again) can be found on our Social Distancing Activities page!
Tidal Zone: Shorebirds
After a long flight these birds need a rest stop! Shorebirds visit Delaware beaches in May. They eat a lot of Horseshoe Crab eggs, marine worms and small invertebrates. Some shorebirds will stay and nest in Delaware. Many shorebirds will fly north to nest on the Arctic Tundra. Are you ready to become a shorebird watcher?
How many shorebirds can you find in the video using the Shorebird Guide? How many on a visit to the bay?
Shorebird Mystery Hunt
Using the live action scenes in the video, hunt for the shorebirds with the clues below. Can you name the birds for each clue?
- Find a group of small birds moving like popcorn while feeding on the mud flats.
- Find the bird with a long bill and round body feeding in the mud like a jack hammer going up and down.
- Find the bird with a short bill and a black necklace who spends a lot of time climbing on top of rocks and feeding on the beach.
- Find the bird that has a bill which curves down, feeds in the mud and has a black belly.
- Find the bird with a long straight bill, long legs and dipping in the water for a drink.
Printable Activity Sheets »
Learn About Shorebirds
Build a Bird House or Nest Box
Did you know that there are insufficient places for many bird species to nest?
You can give a bird a home AND make your yard a safe place for laying eggs and raising young!
The Bees Have Arrived to Coverdale Farm Preserve
See the delivery of honeybees and watch how we put them into the hives at Coverdale Farm Preserve. Get fresh produce weekly and support local sustainable farming when you buy a share of our CSA or shop our Farm Market.
Our Earth, Our Home
Happy Earth Day Neighbors!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever Earth Day Celebration! Check out some ways that you can celebrate with us.
Saving the Planet Starts at Home
Just because we’re stuck at home doesn’t mean we can’t do good for the environment!
Here are 15 easy things that anyone can do to start:
- Turn off your TV for the day and get outside!
- Go for a nature walk at a local park
- Scoop your dogs poop
- Build a bird feeder or bird house
- Switch all bank and bill statements to paperless
- Go bird-watching and try to ID the birds you see
- Get crafty with recycled materials (hey Pinterest!)
- Commit to eating meat free one day per week
- Switch to energy efficient lightbulbs
- Rip out the invasive plants in your yard and plant a native garden. Ask us for recommendations!
- Refresh your knowledge of local recycling rules
- If the night skies are clear, look for stars!
- Make a compost pile with food scraps
- Fix the leaky faucets in your house
- Switch to reusable bags and stop using plastic!
Garden for Water and Wildlife
Turn your garden into a Certified Wildlife Habitat with these easy steps!
- Provide food: plant native plants that have nectar, fruits, and seeds.
- Supply Water: water gardens, bird baths, and puddles for drinking and bathing.
- Create Cover: rock piles and evergreens give protection from weather, predators, and people.
- Provide spaces for animals to raise their young: trees and shrubs are great protection!
- Garden sustainably: reduce lawn chemicals like pesticides, create a rain garden, use a rain barrel.
(excerpt from our Garden for Water and Wildlife page)
Clean Up Your Neighborhood
The next time you go on a walk with your dog or your family, bring a trash bag and pick up any litter or trash that you may find.
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- Feel free to wear protective gloves for this activity and remember to throw them away when you are finished and always wash your hands.
- Be sure to recycle any bottles, cans, paper, or cardboard you may find!
Turn it into a family competition! Whoever picks up the most trash wins!
Check out more Earth Day activities »
Printable Activity Pages »
Pollinators for Families
DelNature invites families to: Take it Outside…Explore Nature in Your Backyard
April Showers bring May flowers …What follows the flowers? Insect Pollinators
We need pollinators! There are many different types of insects called pollinators. Flowers have a variety of colors, shapes and smells to encourage pollinators to visit!
Pollinators move tiny grains of pollen from flower to flower which helps the plant make seeds for more new plants. Watch video Mission Pollination by the Bug Chicks. Photo is a bee covered in pollen.
Meet the Insect Pollinators
Bees and Wasps. Their favorite flowers are yellow, blue and violet purple and have a sweet smell. Bees and Wasps have 2 pairs of wings.
Flies. Their favorite flowers are white, green or dark purple and have a stinky smell. Flies have 2 wings (a pair).
More Insect Pollinators.
Butterflies: Their favorite flowers are in groups of bright reds, blues and yellows and are shaped like a tube.
Moths: Their favorite flowers are open at night and have a sweet smell.
Beetles: Their favorite flowers are white and green, are usually bowl shaped and have a fruity smell.
Go Outside & Explore the Flowers in Your Yard
How many different flowers do you see? What color are they? What shape? Do they smell?
Insect pollinators have favorite flowers. Bees like white, yellow and blue colors while flies like stinky flowers. Butterflies prefer tube shaped flowers.
Print out the below Pollinator Info card and the Flower Seeking Pollinator data sheet and investigate your yard.
Take the “Bee Quiz”.
Printable Activity Cards
