Choose Learning Type ▼

Who’s Eating What?

Activity

Exploring Plants & Wildlife on Campus

What grows on your campus? Depending on the time of year, you may find mulberries, figs, or chapote. Search for signs of eating: tracks near plants, bites in fruits, or seeds in scat. Brainstorm which animals eat which plants, and discuss the special adaptations that might make that possible. Then, draw or paint one of these animals having a meal.

Science Seed

On your campus, plants like Texas mulberry, fig trees, and chapote provide food for animals like raccoons, birds, and squirrels. In May, mulberry berries ripen and become a favorite for small animals like birds and squirrels, while chapote fruit, a favorite of raccoons, ripens from July to September. Animals eat these fruits and help spread seeds through their scat (animal poop)! Fig trees also provide sugary fruit, often leaving behind clues like bite marks and tracks. By spotting tracks, bitten fruit, or seeds in scat, we can see how plants and animals work together.

move to the next activity

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 Geraldine Palmer Elementary

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.