How to get started with South Australia’s new Junior Ranger activity

South Australia’s Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice has launched a new Junior Ranger nature jour­nal­ing activ­i­ty that will get kids excit­ed about spend­ing time in nature this autumn.

Designed to spark curi­ous minds, ​‘Autumn Diaries’ is a great way to take the class­room out­side and get the whole fam­i­ly involved in the art of nature journaling.

Jour­nal­ing has been part of the lives of sci­en­tists, nat­u­ral­ists, artists and rangers through­out his­to­ry, and helps kids explore their curios­i­ty and obser­va­tions about the world around them.

The activ­i­ties in the Junior Ranger pro­gram will inspire young peo­ple to cap­ture their obser­va­tions about nature – even if it’s just in their own back garden

You don’t even need any spe­cial equip­ment – just a note­book, pens, paints and your imag­i­na­tion. And the best part? There are no right or wrong answers!

How does the Autumn Diaries activ­i­ty work?

The six-week Autumn Diaries activ­i­ty has just been launched.

Each week a new activ­i­ty is released that focus­es on a par­tic­u­lar theme. Par­tic­i­pants will be giv­en actions, chal­lenges and jour­nal­ing tips that will help them explore and bet­ter under­stand the nat­ur­al world around them.

Keep your eye out on the Nation­al Parks South Aus­tralia web­site to see what’s in store for the week. And watch out for the com­pe­ti­tion.

What top­ics does it cover?

Over six weeks, par­tic­i­pants will explore:

Week 1: Autumn along our coast and marine parks

Week 2: Autumn – A time for birds

Week 3: Autumn in colour — Trees and flowers

Week 4: Fun­gi, leaf lit­ter and decay

Week 5: Ani­mal tracks and traces

Week 6: Large ani­mal behaviour

Who can take part?

While the pro­gram is aimed at kids aged 8 – 14 years, the activ­i­ties can eas­i­ly be adapt­ed for younger chil­dren too.

The pro­gram runs over six weeks, but can be done at your leisure as soon as each week’s activ­i­ty is released.

How can you get started?

The activ­i­ty for Week 1 has just been released. Par­tic­i­pants will explore ​‘Autumn along our coast and marine parks’, where they can explore ques­tions about beach finds and marine animals.

Check out the activ­i­ty page to find out what chal­lenges are in store, and to get start­ed with the first week of journaling.

So what are you wait­ing for?

Keep a look out on the Nation­al Parks and Wildlife Ser­vice Face­book page for the ​‘Autumn Diaries’ com­pe­ti­tion – there’s some great Junior Ranger prizes up for grabs. And check the web­siteto find out how to share your favourite jour­nal pages, pic­tures or notes.

Main image: Gevil­lea by Samei­ka Wright, Year 4, Kingston on Mur­ray Pri­ma­ry School