A map created German cartographer Henricus Martellus (aka Heinrich Hammer) in 1491 depicts the world as known to Europeans at that time. Recent studies reveal more details than ever seen before.

As I wrote in a past blog post,  fossil hunting can be a great way to explore.  Perhaps you haven’t heard, there is a special day for it – National Fossil Day.  This year it is, October 11, 2017.  The first Fossil Day was created in 2010 by the American Geological Institute and the National […]

Knowing about the area you are exploring helps you focus on the things (plants, animals and even rocks) you are most likely to find there.  One way scientists have been organizing areas uses the concept of the ecoregion.  An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that covers a relatively large area of land or […]

A month or so ago we offered the first in this series of posts on Map Navigation.  That post addressed declination by providing some background information then presenting a video tutorial presented by Sierra Designs and Andrew Skurka.  They have now produced another video that discusses bearings and how to find a bearing in the field, […]

We’ve mentioned conflicts between people and wildlife in these past posts: Animal Safety Lessons Learned from Death by Grizzly Bear Liability for Injuries Caused by Animals If the People Were Bears and the Bears Were People Yet,  done safely, watching wildlife can be a terrific reason to get out and explore.  In fact a program called […]

In March and April each year kids aged 15 to 18 are applying for positions with the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC).  They will send their applications to the location they would like to work and wait.  After the enrollment period ends,  the Park Service, Forest Service and other participating agencies will randomly select the participants at […]

If you happen to be attending college. you are very likely in the best position you will ever be in to get outdoors and get active.  Many colleges and universities offer outdoor recreation centers, guided tours of all sorts, access to a wide range of outdoor equipment and much more, all created with the budget of […]

Many states have a Master Gardner program, typically managed through the local county extension agent’s office.  These programs teach people to become better gardeners and to pass on that training to others.  A similar program is often called Master Naturalist, but goes by different names in different places including: California Naturalist Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist Iowa […]

Nature Kids Radio, an audio podcast, has a mission of getting kids outside, but it doesn’t stop there.   Host Kenny Ballentine, founder of Nature Kids Institute, says, the podcast is “completely dedicated to reconnecting children families and the entire human species with the wonders of nature.” That dovetails nicely with our mission of getting […]

The International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education is new; it’s third issue has been published.  It is published by the North American Association for Environmental Education, an organization dedicated to bringing the brightest minds together to advance environmental literacy and civic engagement through the power of education to create a more sustainable future for all. As […]