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Nature’s Language

Activity

Create Your Own Signs and Gestures

Create 3–5 unique hand signs or simple body movements for natural things you notice nearby, such as the sun, a tree, water, or a bird. Practice your signs until you can remember them easily. Use them to tell a short description of your surroundings or a mini-story about nature.

Science Seed

Many of the world’s earliest languages grew from close connections to nature, using sounds, gestures, and observations as vocabulary. Early hand signals weren’t random; they often imitated real actions, like grinding grain or throwing a spear. Some Indigenous communities even developed their own sign languages long before contact with outside communities, often to communicate silently while hunting or during ceremonies. Modern sign languages are full, complex languages that differ geographically as much as spoken ones.

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earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore Anywhere PEEP

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.