Back in April, I wrote an article highlighting an eco-friendly project for kids - Kid Friendly Eco Project.  The activity involved storm drain marking with fish decals to remind the public that water ways lead to fish.  I was very excited to reserve my marking kit with the city, but because of a fish decal shortage, I only received it this week.  I’m wanted to report back on the success of the activity.

Well, my sons and I loved marking the drains.  Actually, there is nothing my boys didn’t enjoy with this project.  I think I feel a paper route coming in their near future because they loved delivering the educational literature to the houses the most.  Of course at the beginning of this adventure, hitting the fish decals with the mallet was pretty fun too.  <smile>

The entire process of storm drain marking is wonderful for a family project. You put on a reflective vest, brush away debris from the road where you plan on putting the decal, then you pour the glue onto the road, peel and stick the fish decal, then pound it with a mallet approx. 100 times.  When you see the roadway bumps coming through the decal, you’ve done a good job.  These decals need 48 hours to completely stick to the road, so I’m really hoping people don’t lift them up before this time.  I guess this is another wonderful thing about having children. 
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This summer with my clan is really flying by.  We are having a blast staying local and just trying to spend as much time in nature, with friends, and staying cool. I’m actually looking forward to some lazy days to try some awesome crafts I’ve seen in an old OWL book. I also came across these great activities from a Canadian Living article with their top 30 summer activities ideas. The following really appealed to me and I’m adding them to my to-do list when things hit a lull at home. To check out all 30 ideas, visit the article: 30 fun things to do with your kids this summer. Here are my favorite picks - activities I want to try and others I’ve done with my kids that have been a success!

Activities To-Do:

♥  With an insect book in hand, discover the creatures living in your garden, and learn about their benefits together.
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Happy Canada Day!  I hope all Canadians get to celebrate in the fresh air, under a beautiful warm sun, enjoying the amazing nature that surrounds us all!

A sentence I’ve quoted before keeps ringing in my ears whenever I’m out with my kids in nature.  It’s from the site Green Hour and I thought it was brilliant and was thinking about it at the park with my kids tonight. 

“Twenty years from now, your child may not remember every piano lesson or soccer practice you took them to. But you can bet they’ll remember climbing a tree with you!” 

The boys were climbing a tree and having the best time, so I thought I’d practise what I write about.  This picture might say it better than words.  Happy Canada Day!

I’ve come to the realization that the only place all four of my kids are completely happy is on the beach or on a forest walk.  With the different ages, it’s too hard to keep them all happy for an extended period of time at parks, the aquarium, science world, etc.  They all head off in separate directions and everyone ends up frustrated.  But get them near the ocean, tide pools, a forest with stumps to climb…magical things happen.  Everyone is happy and that makes my life SO easy!  The only drawback to this wonderful discovery is that bears are almost as common as dogs in the forested areas where I live as many neighborhoods back onto green belts and new neighborhoods have built homes high up into the trees.  It is not uncommon to see either a coyote, deer, or bear in our local neighborhoods. Yikes…it’s scary!  I don’t know how I would handle myself if I was alone in a forest with 4 small children and ran into a black bear.

I figure knowledge is empowering, so hopefully by the end of this article, I’ll feel more confident to explore the amazing nature that surrounds us in BC.  It is such an amazing lush and beautiful province, filled with trees that take your breath away.  This time of year the salmon have completed their annual run up the rivers to spawn, but wild berry bushes have started to sprout everywhere you look, which bears love to eat!  I would say a bigger problem in our community is people that leave their garbage at curb side the night before pickup and that property developers have built huge communities where the forest once remained untouched.  There has been lots of housing development of late.  But when deep in a forest, you are in the bear’s backyard, so you need to adapt. Here are tips to avoid bear encounters:

Avoiding Bear Encounters In The Forest:

→  Travel with others.  haha..with my kids I always have company.  Inviting friends with an adult to join us for walks would be a good idea.

→  Avoid wearing strong perfumes.

→  Keep children and dogs close to you at all times.  Stay together as a group.

→  Watch for fresh bear signs: bear poo (large with seeds visible), tracks, scratches on trees.

→  Make noise.  I smile as I type this because there is no louder gang than my brood all together.  You can clap, sing, talk loudly to warn a bear you are coming.  I will invest in some bear bells for the kids.  They are inexpensive and my kids would love the novelty of wearing them!  Anything that helps keep them a little safer.

If I can learn how to use it properly, I’ll also invest in some bear spray.  On most given days I have no clue where my wallet or car keys are…I’m not sure how effective finding bear spray in a stressful situation like a bear encounter would work for me.  <smile>  But, you can bet if one of my kids was in danger of being attacked, I could figure it out quick.

I don’t know where I heard ’scream and run’ as the advice for encountering a bear at close range, but I’ve learned this information is not correct.  If you encounter a bear you should stand still, speak to it firmly but calmly, and wave your arms slowly or clap so that the bear will recognize you as a human.  You retreat slowly and quietly without making eye contact with the bear.

Time outside will ‘keep the doctor away’, and there is growing concern for the relationship our children have with nature.  Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder refers to this nature-child disconnect as “nature deficit disorder.” 
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