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PrintGift Ideas for The Nature Lover
A few specially selected presents can help children explore trails or identify what they see in the woods. And don’t forget nature-related gift for adults as well. It might trigger a new hobby for a retiree or encourage a busy professional to carve out time to spend outdoors with their kids.
Brad Bumgardner, interpretive naturalist at Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton, suggests owl pellet dissecting kits as a gift to spark further interest in the natural world. Kits include a sterilized owl pellet, forceps and a hand lens. Pellets are the non-digestible material owls cough up after eating. Along with fur, each pellet contains tiny bones which can be identified to discover what the owl ate. Kits are available at the Indiana Dunes State Park nature center, or search online.
Brad’s favorite homemade gift is a Leopold bench as a comfortable place to rest and reflect. The simple seat, constructed from just a few 2" x 10" boards, was made legendary by outdoorsman Aldo Leopold, an early pioneer of wildlife management and conservation. Pre-cut kits are available at Indiana Dunes State Park, or search for the plans online.
Scott Beam, naturalist at Maple Wood Nature Center in LaGrange, often gets asked for gift ideas for nature lovers, new and experienced. He suggests field guides to birds, trees, mushrooms, insects and other nature-related interests as natural choices. “The Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists” series is especially good for young explorers. For seasoned nature observers, try a guide carrying pack or field cover.
Family Activity: Make a Mini-Plant Press as a Gift
A child’s interest in science and the outdoors can be fostered through gift-giving as well as receiving.
Maria Peacock, interpretive services manager at St. Joseph County Parks, Indiana, suggests a mini plant press as a simple gift children can make. Even in December, you can find yellow and green leaves in woods and fields to dry in the press as part of your gift. If outdoor flowers and leaves are hard to find, check with a florist for petals and other discards you can have for free. Choose flowers that do not have bulky centers.
Supplies:
- Two 1" x 4" x 4" square boards, edges sanded smooth (exact size is not critical, just be sure the two are the same.) Many home improvement centers will cut a board for you at little or no cost.
- Three squares of corrugated cardboard, the same size as the wood squares.
- Eight sheets of newspaper the same size as the cardboard.
- Two thick rubber bands.
- Optional: acrylic or tempera paints and brushes to decorate one side of a board as a cover for the plant press.
Place a cardboard square on top of one of the boards. Follow with four newspaper sheets. Repeat the cardboard-newspaper layers. Top with the last cardboard square and the remaining board. Rubber bands around the outside should exert pressure on the plant press.
To press and dry leaves or flowers, insert them between the newspaper sheets. Don’t overlap. In a dry location, leaves or flowers will dry in a few days. Glue them to bookmarks or stationery, or seal in waxed paper or clear contact paper for more easy-to-make gifts.
The Gift List
Need more ideas? Here are a few more gifts that are perfect for nearly all ages.
- Real binoculars: There are good quality compact binoculars even a child can hold
- A handsome rain hat
- A bird song identification program for a smart phone or compact digital player
- Fishing pole
- Rain gauge and outdoor thermometer for a mini-weather station
- Subscription to a nature magazine such as Outdoor Indiana (for older readers and adults) or Ranger Rick (for youngsters)
- Wild edibles or venison cookbook
- Warm wool mittens or open finger gloves (easier to flip field guide pages)
- Blank journal and colored pencils
- Annual pass to a local park system
- Snowshoes
- Bird house kit (which can be assembled and given as a gift in the future)
