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Why is Nature Important?
Studies have shown that access to natural space can:
Foster social-emotional wellbeing
Improve children’s academic performance
Reduce nearsightedness
Improve fetal growth and birth weights when pregnant individuals spend time in nature
On top of these important physical and mental health benefits, playing outside is fun!
Jump In!
Places to Go
Places to Go
Pima County Sports and Recreation Map
This interactive map includes recreation centers, parks, pools, splash pads, and softball/baseball fields. Find a location near you or check out a new spot!
Programs to Participate In
Programs to Participate In
Days of Connection
Days of Connection are community conservation gatherings focused on our shared connection to place, nature, and community as a means of cultivating healthy, sustainable and meaningful relationships. These events happen seasonally every fall and spring. Look out for an invitation!
Crawl inside an inflatable planetarium, learn about the amazing layers of history under our feet, listen to a story in the peace garden or check out the seed library!
Join Arizona State Parks for a Star Party where you'll learn about the beautiful night sky and even get to look through a telescope at stars light-years away!
Learn to swim with Parks and Rec swimming classes for kids from ages 6 months to 17 years old.
Plant trees or join a cleanup with Tucson Clean and Beautiful
Tucson Clean and Beautiful hosts neighborhood clean-ups and tree planting events in the fall and spring months. In addition, they often offer youth work force development and leadership opportunities.
Activities to Do
Activities to Do
Explore Desert Plant Adaptations
Zoom in and take a closer look at cacti in your neighborhood to see what special powers they have. From waxy coatings to dormancy our native plants have taken millions of years to adapt to our hot and dry climate.
Use this data sheet to see how many pollinators you can spot on our Sonoran Desert blooms. Record things like preferred color, flower shape, if multiple pollinators share the same plant. Repeat this activity throughout the year to see what changes!
Fill-in Junior Naturalist Guidebook
Travel around Pima County to learn about the Sonoran Desert ecosystem and fill in your guidebook! Practice your observation skills, notice the natural food webs and how species interact, understand the scale of the desert and the Sky Islands, and much more.
Each set of nature activity cards has a suggested age group (2-6 years old or 7-11 years old) and a theme, such as urban animals, clouds, crafts, reptiles and frogs. Inside each set, you’ll find activities that incorporate play, acting, drawing, stewardship and more. Feel free to modify to better fit the Sonoran Desert landscape!
Developed by the National Wildlife Federation and Natural Learning Initiative, this guide is an tool for caregivers to create enticing outdoor play spaces in their backyard, patio, or balcony. The guide contains easy-to-use instructions for creating features like edible pathways, fairy villages, areas for water or sand play, backyard habitat, and much more.
A Kid's Guide to Stargazing from the American Museum of Natural History
Learn about the wonders of the night sky, use tools like an interactive star map, and start your own star journal.
Explore the Art of Nature Journaling
Embrace your creative side and learn about the art of nature journaling! Developed by John Muir Laws, this twist on the naturalist tradition helps kids (and adults!) of all ages connect with nature and develop observational and creative skills.
Learn about the wildlife of Pima County and where to see them
Pima County is home to an incredible diversity of life. This guide highlights the plants and animals you might be able to see at different parks and preserves around Pima County.
This guide by Tucson Bird Alliance can help you get to know the birds you might see in your backyard, local park, or out in the mountains!
Tucson Bird Society bird-safe window activity
Do a fun activity with kids to help make sure your windows are safe for birds. Birds sometimes can't see windows and fly straight into them which is dangerous! This activity helps kids learn several different ways to make your windows safe for birds including creating fun removable decals or hanging up curtains.
Camps, games, and all kinds of fun facts from the Desert Museum
Check out the Desert Museum's hub for fun desert animal themed activities. Featuring videos, games, plant and animal fact sheets, and all the fun facts you can think of, this site is a great way to learn more about desert plants and animals.
Make your backyard into habitat
What does it take to make your back yard into habitat for birds, lizards or butterflies? National Wildlife Federation offers tips and guides for how to make your school yard, backyard or even patio into a hotel for birds and butterflies!
Learn Outside
Learn Outside
Birding Field Trips for Classes
Take a trip with Tucson Bird Alliance to learn about the unique ecology of Sweetwater Wetlands.
Watershed Management Group School Resources
Take a field trip to the Living Lab, start a project at your own school, or learn how to incorporate sustainability into your classroom.
Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium Teacher Resources
Visit a moon tree, explore outer space, and dive deep into the ocean. Flandrau has standards-aligned resources for before, during, and after your field trip.
Teach about water in the Sonoran Desert with curriculum guides, presentations, and full lesson plans directly from University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. You can also attend professional development associated with the Arizona Water Festival.
Pima County Environmental Education Field Trips and Classroom Programs
Sign up for a field study trip with County educators or browse lesson plans to incorporate in your everyday curriculum.
Contact Us
Email us at admin@pimaconnectingchildrentonature.org
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