Wild Gifts Keep on Giving

As you struggle with gift-giving ideas this year, think about wild or nature-themed presents. Wild gifts extend our value of the natural world and inspire continuing nature-thinking and learning. If you're a bird-lover and you give bird gifts, this pattern will make perfect sense to your kids and grandkids! Consider these possibilities:

CLOTHES, TOYS, AND GAMES
Wild gifts such as pajamas, plush puppets, stuffed animals, picture puzzles, or matching card games can help children “sport” the nature they love, learn identification details, or think more about natural habitats.

NATURE EXPLORATION TOOLS$7-$20
Other wild gifts might include binoculars, magnifying glasses, or bug catchers. To shop these options in the Lincoln area, check out nature displays in bookstores and unique selections in the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center and Pioneers Park Nature Center gift shops. Older kids might like a fisheye or macro lens that clips to a cell phone to allow detailed photos of small subjects (i.e., insects, rocks, and feathers). These photo options encourage detailed observations.

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES $15-$30
Classics (like Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain) continue as compelling animal lore/adventure stories for young adults, but you will find a myriad of options, including field guides and journals, in the nature section of any bookstore. The National Wildlife Federation publishes award-winning nature magazines for all ages. Check out the age-appropriate options from Ranger Rick Cub™ (Ages 0—4) to Ranger Rick® (Ages 7+) with amazing photos, stories, rhymes, games, awesome animal facts, comic adventures, and exciting nature discoveries to share or use in school assignments.

National Wildlife magazine (all ages) features an award-winning blend of in-depth articles and spectacular photographs of wildlife, wild lands, and the people working to ensure their protection. Not that this list of wild gifts carry any guarantee, but they do give us a chance to share what we love and encourage nature interests and connections. It is no surprise, however, that Jane Goodall credits Jubilee (a stuffed chimpanzee her father gave her as a young girl) as her introduction to a lifelong interest in chimpanzees.

WHERE TO FIND THESE GIFTS:

Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center
11700 SW 100th St

Pioneers Park Nature Center
3201 South Coddington

Local Bookstores
(Francie & Finch, Bluestem Books, etc.)