What Exactly does a School Nature Club look like? A school nature club is a group of students, along with a leader (usually a parent or a teacher) who meet on a regular basis to enjoy nature exploration and activities. Each nature club is unique- just like its participants! How often a nature club meets, and the kinds of activities they do, the number of children, the range of ages, where and when they meet - are all variable. You decide what works in your school community. Some nature clubs focus on projects like creating a wildlife-friendly garden, running a recycling team, reducing energy use in the school or restoring habitat in a nearby Green space. Other nature clubs focus on learning about local species through nature studies in the schoolyard, neighborhood or local parks, or by inviting guest speakers like local natural history experts. It’s up to you and your club to decide what works!
Some Types of School Nature Clubs Meet your wild neighbors – this club likes to study local birds, mammals or insects; Nature-friendly lifestyles – this type of club tackles current environmental challenges through beneficial personal actions such as reducing your carbon footprint, saving energy, walking to school, recycling etc; Digging deeper- this type of club likes to play in the dirt with school gardening projects like xeriscaping, native species gardening or wildlife gardening; Conservation Station- this type of club learns about and contributes toward the success of local conservation projects; Outdoor Exploring- this type of club likes to get outdoors exploring the school yard, neighbourhood parks and possibly beyond.
Why Join the Young Naturalists’ Club? The Nature Clubs in Schools Program is for existing school nature/environmental clubs and for schools who are starting a new nature club. When your school joins the YNC, your club will receive a welcome package with some great resources, ongoing nature information and citizen science opportunities. Your club also becomes part of a growing network of students, teachers and parents who believe in the importance of connecting children with nature.
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For the School It’s easy Upon joining, the club will receive a welcome pack including: being green .yn Membership Certificate (PDF), c .c a Poster of BC Wildlife, Handy Bird/Insect identification card, Laminated Backyard Bird ID Card for your region, NaturePlay Day Activity Guide (PDF), New Fall 2011! Receive YNC’s 20 page SalmonWILD education resource. As a school club, throughout the year you will also receive: E-bulletins with activities, citizen science opportunities & contests, 1 club copy of each issue of NatureWILD (produced quarterly), plus 1 copy for each registered club member (during the school year)
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Register your Club! School Information
School Name: _____________________________ School Phone:________________ School Address: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________
Leader Information
Club Leader Name: _____________________________________________________ Email: _________________________ Phone:______________________ Co-Leader Name: ______________________________________________________ Email: ___________________________ Phone: _____________________
Annual Membership Fee = $9 per club member (minimum 5)
Number of Club Members* ___________ X $9 = Total ______________ *minimum 5 www.ync.ca coordinator@ync.ca 604.985.3057
Mail payment along with a copy of this form to: Young Naturalists’ Club of BC - School Clubs 1620 Mount Seymour Rd., North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9
Tell us about your Club!
Is this a new club or an existing nature club? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ What types of activities will your club do this year? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Tell us why you think a Nature Club is important for your school? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Thank you! Your Welcome Package and will be mailed shortly.
Why Start a Nature Club in your School?
There are many reasons to start a Nature Club: It’s a great way to create a sense of place and connection to our neighbourhoods and our planet; Nature Clubs build school spirit and camaraderie; Nature Clubs reinforce healthy habits getting kids active and outdoors; Nature studies enhance, reinforce and engage kids in their classroom learning; Nature Clubs enable children to bring classroom learning into their own real life experience; Nature Clubs can directly benefit the school community through projects and attitude; Nature Clubs help connect children to the earth; Nature Clubs can reduce schoolyard conflicts by creating a team environment; Nature Club activities reinforce the notion that learning is lifelong fun; Nature Clubs epitomize green time instead of screen time; Nature Clubs help make connections in the community via experts or projects; Nature Clubs are important because today’s children have fewer opportunities explore nature than in previous generations; Nature Clubs can help children interpret larger environmental issues by gaining an understanding of our local environment; Nature clubs are important because never has the earth needed us to be more aware of how connected everything is on planet; Nature clubs are FUN because kids are innately interested in nature (and kids’ enthusiasm and concern for the planet is infectious!). www.ync.ca