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Plant Detectives

Activity

Identifying Local Flora Using Observation and Apps

Explore the plants around your school and try to identify them. If you’re having difficulty, use the apps iNaturalist and FlowerChecker.

Science Seed

Native plants are very important to our ecosystems because they are adapted to local environments. These adaptations make them need the appropriate amount of water for your area’s rainfall and they provide suitable habitats for native species, like birds, insects, and more. iNaturalist is a great community science platform that allows scientists to monitor species presence and distribution by analyzing photos uploaded to the app by people like you. It also helps with identification, so you can find out what you are seeing. You can upload a photo and wait for the iNaturalist community to identify it! You can learn about what you see while scientist get important data on biodiversity!

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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 Billy Reagan K-8 Education Center

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.

This project was made possible by HEB.