Have you ever heard of a Nature Tracker? Are you a Nature Tracker? Nature is the natural physical world including plants, animals and landscapes and tracking means the act or process of following something or someone. So basically a Nature Tracker is someone following the world around us. Who better to help us discover the world around us than Buddy the Dinosaur and his friends from the Dinosaur Train.

Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, and Don formed a Nature Trackers Club and everyone can join too! Nature Trackers enjoy exploring and having adventures, respecting their environment, and collecting things.  Nature Trackers even enjoy tracking and observing plants and animals, and challenging themselves to get outside and make discoveries every day. Summer is the perfect time to become a Nature Tracker (if you are not one already) and get outside to explore. Science is everywhere outdoors and the Nature Trackers Club makes it easy for parents and fun for kids through a series of monthly challenges. All the challenges fall into one of four themes: Tracking, Collecting, Conservation, & Community.

This month the challenge is to become a trailblazer. A great way to explore or observe nature is go on a hike or walk.

These could be one of the many trails in Southern California or you could create your own trail. Trailblazing is when you use marking or symbols to create a trail in nature. This month’s Nature Tracker’s challenge asks kids to make their own trail and have their family try and follow a path.  Buddy and his friends even provide trail markers that kids can cut out.

 The Nature Tracker’s Website has plenty of resources to get started outside this summer. You can sing aloud with the Nature Trackers song or print your very own family Nature Trackers Guide Book.

Parents can join the Nature Trackers newsletter for updates and new monthly challenges and kids can  fill out a Nature Trackers membership form and receive a special member card in the mail. All Dinosaur Train related materials called by found on the Dinosaur Train website.

Locally, you can get outside with PBS SoCaL. We will be hosting a hands-on Nature Trackers this fall at the LA Zoo. Details will be available soon on the PBS SoCaL events calendar but all families are welcome to join as Buddy and his Nature Trackers friends as they invade the Zoo for a day filled with Collecting, Conserving, and Community!

Keep Tracking!