"Nature Nerding" is my project to help connect young people with the natural world that surrounds them no matter where they live or what access to true wilderness they have. The nerding part comes from my belief that it is not enough just to be physically present in nature, although that is a great start. I hope to help people connect more deeply with nature by encouraging interaction, observation, questioning, and maybe even some experimentation and research.

This page is the current home for a tool I came up with to facilitate nature nerding, and I need some small people to test it out for me and help me make it better. The PDF (available for free download through the button below) contains detailed instructions, but basically it is a series of cards (photos with questions - examples below) designed to get kids making thought provoking observations about the natural world. The goal is to get them to look more closely than they would otherwise, and help them see the world a little differently in doing so. I'm tentatively calling them Nature Nerding Field Cards, and I hope you will be willing to give them a try the next time you're outside with your kid anywhere that even vaguely feels like "nature", including your backyard, or local park (especially around the edges where things tend to be a bit more wild).

This is a preliminary version of this product, so please excuse any typos/errors/etc.,  but I want to test it out with a few real kids before going any farther. If I get positive feedback, I will consider putting in a good deal more time and energy to further develop this and similar products.

When you have had a chance to try out the cards, please PLEASE! do me the huge favor of filling out the feedback survey at this link or embedded below. This will help me decide if it is worthwhile putting more energy into this project, as well as what directions it should head.