7 Creative Things for Your Family to do Outside in 2025
Turn Everyday Walks into Natural Learning Adventures
By Alicia Drover
Want to get outside with the family more this year, and looking for new things to do? Our nature school instructors spend hours outside with kids daily, and each day is new and exciting! We want to share some of our favourite, yet simple, nature activities you can do with your family. These creative land-based learning ideas will turn even a stroll through the park into an outdoor family adventure.
1. Name your surroundings
The natural world comes more alive when you can call the different plants, animals, and other living things by name. Grab a field guide or download an ID app like iNaturalist or Merlin – these can help you learn how to identify local plants and wildlife. Have a competition for who can identify the prettiest, the largest, the smallest, the weirdest thing you can find!
2. Investigate nature mysteries
The next time you or your kids notice something interesting, leave the quick explanation behind. Those paw prints in the mud that were ‘probably just the neighbour’s cat again’ offer an opportunity for investigation! How can you tell a cat’s tracks from a dog’s tracks? If it was your neighbour’s cat, how long ago do you think it might have been there, and what might the cat have been doing? Was it walking leisurely and making neat indentations in the mud, or was it running and leaving behind longer, more smudged tracks? Each line of questioning can lead your family through a journey of intrigue and discovery.
3. Practice outdoor skills
A big key to connecting with nature is being comfortable outdoors. Learning outdoor and survival skills can be fun, rewarding, and potentially very useful. Go ahead and practice how to set up your camping tent, learn to start a fire, practice outdoor knots, or build a natural shelter.
4. Use your senses
It’s amazing what you can notice when your eyes are closed. To engage your sense of touch, try this outdoor family activity. Challenge your family members to feel a leaf, cone, or other part of a plant with their eyes closed, and then find the plant it came from. You’ll get to know these plants from a whole new perspective! (Bonus: This also helps with remembering names if you’re learning plant ID.)
5. Find a special place: Go on a hunt for a special spot outdoors. Turn it into your family’s secret base, your ‘fishing hole,’ or a magic portal to another land. The opportunities for imaginative play with the kids are endless.
6. Build with natural materials: The forest floor contains a bounty of building material: sticks, rocks, leaves, cones, and more. Fairy houses, bird’s nests, leaf boats, treasure shops, obstacle courses and tiny gardens are some of the many creations possible. We do this often in our nature school, and it’s a great way to have fun as a family too.
7. Help your ecosystem: When you frequently enjoy the outdoors, it gives you a unique opportunity to think about how you can help nature in return. Check for environmental initiatives, such as invasive species removals, near you – or brainstorm ways you can help your favourite park or your child’s favourite animal. Remember, take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints.
If your child loves nature, they might love exploring it with a bunch of new friends, too! Soaring Eagle Nature School’s programs offer a frequent dose of outdoor fun, learning, and adventure. Our Weekly Nature School, Citizen Science, and Spring Break Camps have limited spots in our January to June 2025 term. Find your program or get in touch to learn more.




