New Families in Nature Explore Packs available at Avalon Library allow kids to learn about their natural surroundings through exploration. Catalina Island Conservancy education program staff, thanks to support from Los Angeles Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn and the county of Los Angeles, were able to create these free resources now available for checkout.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, Conservancy staff demonstrated the activities within the Explore Packs at the library to a crowd of local children and their families.
“Each Explore Pack has activities that can be done outside in nature or inside your home,” said Conservancy Outreach Program Coordinator Maria Dominguez.
“Plus, all materials in the backpacks are in both English and Spanish to make it easy for everyone to participate,” Dominguez said.
Families checking out an Explore Pack can choose from five themes: Birds, Seashore, Nearby Nature, Plants, and Bugs & Friends. Each Explore Pack contains several hands-on activities that correspond with a section of an educational binder.
Each lesson has simple steps to follow to maximize the learning.
For instance, the Birds Pack includes binoculars and a section about birding, as well as wooden eggs to illustrate how different birds lay different size eggs. Bugs & Friends includes small replicas of four parts of the life cycle for several insects.
The Seashore Pack contains mounted examples of kelp with labels on each part and a coordinating binder section explaining their functions.
There are also children’s books in each Explore Pack to reinforce the learning through literature.
“They are wonderful backpacks and we’re proud to have them here at Avalon Library,” said Community Library Manager Paul Birchall.
“They really support our mission,” Birchall said.
The Explore Packs also further the Conservancy’s mission of conservation, education and recreation by encouraging Catalina’s youth to learn about their surrounding environment through nature-based exploration, inspiring new conservationists. Explore Packs can be used by anyone, but because of small parts, children younger than 5 should have an adult present.
“The Catalina Island Conservancy is so excited to support learning about the Island through active engagement and time spent in nature,” said Conservancy Director of Education Leah Melber.
“We know these Explore Packs are a great resource to help with that,” Melber said.
By the end of the event, three of the five backpacks were on their way home with local families.
