Choose Learning Type ▼

Build Like a Beaver

Activity

Create a Beaver Habitat

Using items found in nature, pretend you are a beaver and create your own beaver habitat. Elements you can include are a pond, lodge, trees or dam.

a beaver in the water next to some sticks and reeds

A beaver dam built on the side of Caddo Lake in Texas

Science Seed

A beaver is a large, furry mammal known for its amazing building skills. They are often called “ecosystem engineers”! Beavers have big, flat tails and strong teeth that they use to chop down trees and branches. They use these to build dams in rivers and streams, which are like big walls made of sticks and mud. These dams create ponds where beavers build their homes, called lodges, with underwater entrances. Beavers prevent flooding by building dams across streams and rivers and their ponds act as natural water filters, create wetlands, store carbon and help keep the water table healthy by supporting groundwater recharge. Groundwater recharge is when rainwater soaks into the ground and refills the underground water supply. It is nature’s way of replenishing a big water reserve underground.

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 the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

The Ecologist School Pocket Guide: TSBVI edition is a collaboration between Families in Nature and the Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired as an effort to help our community learn more about the TSBVI campus, while getting outside into nature together! This booklet has 80 lessons across 16 different branches of science to help you play, learn, and volunteer on campus!

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.