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Ladybug Life Stages

Activity

Looking for Ladybugs

Explore the gardens around campus looking for different ladybug life stages, from egg to larvae to pupae to adult beetle. Then teach your classmates or family about using environmentally-friendly insect management while gardening!

Science Seed

There are many ways to control pest insect populations without the use of destructive chemicals that kill many species at once. For example, ladybugs are a great natural, or biological, pest control. Ladybugs are voracious predators of many garden pests, particularly aphids, reducing the need for gardeners to use pesticides. During its two week larval stage a ladybug can eat up to 400 aphids. By eating harmful pests ladybugs protect plants, increase biodiversity and contribute to a more stable and resilient ecosystem, which benefits not only plants but also other beneficial insects, birds, and wildlife.

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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 the Travis 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.

SPARK’s mission is to work with public schools to develop their playgrounds into community parks. SPARK has built 200+ community parks in 17 different school districts throughout the Houston area. Each park is designed based on ideas and needs of the school and surrounding neighborhoods. While all of the parks are different, a typical park consists of modular playground equipment, a walking trail, benches, picnic tables, trees, an outdoor classroom, and a public art component.