Backyard Naturalist Be an Explorer Every Day! Creative Climates Culture Clues Letterboxing: A Geographic Scavenger Hunt Preserving Biodiversity Activity Index

<< Everyday Explorers demonstrate hands-on exploration. Photos courtesy of Peter Thron, National Geographic Channel

Help guide the everyday exploration of your community and become a backyard naturalist! You've just been hired as a local naturalist. You'll need to prepare yourself to take groups of tourists on short nature hikes and answer their questions about area wildlife. Because naturalists are expected to know a lot about the local environment, your job requires you to become knowledgeable about local wildlife and learn how to collect and analyze biological data. This will ensure that you can answer all those tourists' questions!

The first thing to do is to familiarize yourself with your community. eNature's ZipGuides offer free local wildlife guides. While exploring the site, generate a list of about 20 plants and 20 animals found in your area. You can either write your list down or use eNature's Online Wildlife List feature. Focus on the environment in which each animal or plant lives (such as the river, the forest, etc.) and what it needs to survive and thrive in that environment (for example, what it eats, if it needs a lot of sunlight, etc.). This environment is called a habitat, and different habitats support different types of wildlife.

The next thing to do is find out what types of habitats exist in your region. Visit National Geographic's Geography Action! site to learn more about habitats. Make a list of the types of habitats near your house or school.

Naturalists know a lot about local wildlife, plants, and ecosystems. In addition to being able to identify local species, they know a lot about the various characteristics of the plants and animals. Information about an animal's migration pattern, abundance in a given area, food sources, and behavior is important to scientists working to preserve wildlife. Likewise, understanding the environmental requirements of plants is important for plant conservation. As a naturalist, it is your job to learn as much as you can about the plants and animals of your region.

Take a look at your list of local flora and fauna. Choose a species (either plant or animal) that interests you to investigate further and that you will likely be able to spot regularly. (Remember: safety for both you and your local wildlife is important, so pick a species whose study will not put you or it at risk.) This species will be the subject of your research. Brainstorm some research questions pertaining to your chosen species. For example, if you chose a plant, where does it grow? How much water does it need? What colors can it be? For an animal you might want to study its abundance in your region, its migration pattern, what it eats, etc. Try to think of questions that might be important in conservation efforts. Be sure to choose a species that you can easily identify and observe in the wild. (Hint: birds are the easiest of all animals to observe.)

Choose one question that you'd like to answer about your chosen species. Now you're ready for field work!

In the Field
When scientists study animals in their native habitat, they call it doing "field work." Now that you've chosen your species and your research question, you're ready to head into the field to collect your data. (Remember: Always be respectful of the environment and the wildlife it supports. If you want to take your field work beyond your own backyard, be sure to do so safely with a buddy, and with the permission of a parent, and/or teacher.) Be sure to bring along a notebook so you can record your observations. Each notebook entry should include the date and time of the entry, your location, and the weather conditions, followed by your observations. For example, if you want to know how many of a particular bird species are using a forest habitat near your home, write down how much time you spent in the area and how many birds you saw in that time. You will need to repeat your observations over several days or weeks; the longer the period of data collection the more accurate your data will be. You can use this interactive tool to type up and print your observations. And don't forget to wash your hands after a long day in the field!

Once you have made your observations, think about how you could put them to use. Now that you have the knowledge, sharing it with others is the best way to help protect the local wildlife. The more people understand about the wildlife in their own backyards, the more likely they will want to protect it. Consider taking your parents or friends on a tour of a local area you studied, or offer to make a presentation to a local kindergarten class.

Write a "concrete poem" about your chosen species. The words of the poem should form the shape of the plant or animal.

Older Xpeditioners: Create a backyard habitat. Focusing on your chosen species, design a habitat in your backyard (or other local area) that will provide the species with food, water, cover, and a place to raise young. Use this site from the University of Maine for guidance. Draw a map of your proposed habitat and, once you have constructed it, take photos. Create a guide to your constructed habitat. The guide should include a written overview of your habitat, the map you drew, your photographs of the habitat, and information about the various plants and animals that you expect will use the habitat. Observe your habitat over time and include your observations in the guide. For example, how many and which type of animals have you seen in your habitat? Are your plants thriving? Share your guide with guests who visit from somewhere with different wildlife and habitats.

Parents: Model for your children the value of exploring your local community. Discuss with them the importance of biodiversity. Spend some time outdoors together observing wildlife. Keep a family field notebook in which you record your family's animal and plant observations during weekly or monthly nature walks.

Explain to your children that there are many small things we can do to enhance and protect the natural world. Encourage your children to practice "backyard conservation" and help them with activities such as planting vegetation, cleaning up green spaces, or simply setting up a bird feeder in the back yard.