Nature Study: Exploring the Natural World - Definition & Benefits

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Introduction to Nature Study

Nature Study, the informal study of plants and animals, usually in their natural surroundings, and of other natural objects and events. Nature study is a kind of scientific investigation that takes place in the field rather than in the laboratory. At one time nature study was a course or subject in elementary and high schools. It has been replaced in elementary school by a course of study called science, and in high school by such subjects as biology (or botany and zoology) and chemistry.

Although this article is primarily for younger readers, it should be noted that adults as well as children are often interested in nature study. Bird watching, for example, is a popular hobby of adults. Many persons make collections of butterflies, wildflowers, rocks, shells, or fossils. Others photograph natural objects, or make sketches of them.

Some of the most important scientific discoveries have been made by naturalists, persons who study nature in the field, often as a hobby. Charles Darwin (1809–1882), the British naturalist whose theory of evolution is considered one of the greatest contributions to science, began his work as an amateur observer. John James Audubon (1785?–1851) contributed much to the knowledge of American wildlife with his accurate, artistic paintings of birds and mammals in their natural settings. Amateur students of nature have been influential in conservation of wildlife and other resources, and of scenic beauties.

Many things have been learned by observing and studying nature. For example, from observing the moon and studying how it orbits the earth, scientists got the idea for making artificial satellites and putting them in orbit.

Most people enjoy nature and are curious about it. They find beauty in flowers, trees, and landscapes, and like to watch the activities of animals. They usually want to find out all they can about these things. They want to know what certain animals eat, how birds build their nests, which flowers grow in forests and which in meadows, and why clouds take the forms they do.

Helps In Studying Nature

Where to Get Information

In school many helpful facts and ideas can be obtained from science teachers and science books. There are nature study books for young people in bookstores and libraries. Some of these books are listed at the end of this article. Handbooks of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Camp Fire Boys and Girls give nature information. Many articles in this encyclopedia contain nature information. Some of them are mentioned later in this article. In addition, there are a number of educational television programs and CD-ROM products for computers that provide nature information.

Many museums, especially museums of natural history, have exhibits of natural objects. Some of the exhibits are habitat groups, lifelike specimens of animals and plants shown as they live together in nature. Planetariums and some museums have exhibits showing many interesting facts about the earth and other planets, and the stars. Botanic gardens, zoos, and aquariums contain living things from all over the world.

State and national parks often have small museums. In many parks there are nature trails and guides who conduct tours. City parks are often good places to observe small local animals and to study plant life.

Things You Will Need

You will need a notebook and pencils for writing down the facts you discover, and for sketching things you find. It is not necessary to have a camera, microscope, or binoculars but they are helpful. A hand magnifying glass is useful. Small fieldbooks that describe natural objects help you identify them.

Safety and Conservation

When exploring nature it is important to remember safety rules. The nature books you read will tell which living things may harm you. For example, it is hard to tell poisonous mushrooms from nonpoisonous ones, so it is wise not to handle any that you find in the field. Poisonous snakes and other dangerous animals should be handled only by experts.

Be careful not to destroy plants and wildlife unnecessarily. Some kinds of plants and animals are becoming scarce, and there are laws to protect them. It is against the law to destroy or collect natural objects in parks and forest preserves. Your teacher or parents can help you find out what things you are allowed to collect and where you can collect them.

Learning About Living Things

Identifying Plants

When you find an interesting plant that you do not know, look it up in your fieldbook. If you have no fieldbook with you, write a brief description and draw a simple picture of the plant in your notebook. Later at home or in school you can look in a nature book for the name of the plant.

Tree Calendar

Keep a calendar of one or more trees that you see often, with a record of these dates:

• When leaf buds appear.
• When flower buds appear (if it is a flowering tree).
• When its flowers bloom.
• When the fruit ripens.
• When the seeds are mature.
• When the leaves start to fall. (Some trees, such as pines, do not shed their leaves each year.)

If you have a camera, you can take pictures of the trees at each stage.

Collecting Plant Specimens

Many books on nature study tell how to prepare leaves, flowers, and mosses so that they can be kept for years. They are usually prepared by pressing them between absorbent paper to dry them. Leaves may also be waxed, either as they come from the plant, or after drying.

Plant specimens may be mounted on separate pieces of paper (with glue or transparent tape) and framed, or mounted on pages of a notebook. The name of the plant may be written below it.

Growing Your Own Plants

If you have the space, you may raise a small outdoor garden of flowers, vegetables, or both. Some plants can be raised in window boxes, or indoors in wooden boxes, dishes, or jars. Some plants grow from seeds, others from bulbs or roots. Most plants need soil to grow in, but some will grow in water.

Identifying Animals

You will have to rely to a great extent on your books to help you identify wild animals. They are usually shy, and will run or fly away if you get close enough to sketch or photograph them. To study most birds you will need a pair of binoculars.

Many animals can be identified by the tracks they make in mud, snow, or sand. Sometimes, the tracks will reveal whether the animal had been walking or running or will show that it had been injured.

Bird calls and songs, and frog calls make an interesting study. There are a number of bird and frog calls, and by learning their voices, you can identify the animals without seeing them. Listening to tape recordings of these calls can help you learn them.

Collecting Shells

Collecting and identifying shells can help you learn about water animals. The shells of mollusks such as clams, oysters, and mussels are especially beautiful. Most of these shells are found on seashores, but some kinds may be found on lake shores and river banks.

For help in identifying shells,

Bird Lists and Calendars

You may wish to keep a list of the kinds of birds and the numbers of each kind that you see. Some birds migrate, traveling at certain seasons from one part of the world to another. In North America, migrating birds usually go north in summer, south in winter. You can keep a calendar showing the date each kind of bird arrives in your neighborhood, and the date it disappears.

Attracting and Helping Birds

If you have a yard, there are several ways you can get birds to visit it. A birdbath is especially attractive to songbirds. Food—such as bread crumbs, nuts, grain, and suet—is welcome to birds, especially in winter when it is hard for them to find fruits and insects. Birdhouses are attractive to birds as places to build nests in. Different types of birdhouses attract different types of birds.

Watching Animals Change Shape

The bodies of some animals—including frogs and butterflies—change greatly in form during their lives. You may be able to collect some of these animals in their early stages and watch them change into other shapes. Tadpoles, for example, turn into frogs; caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies.

A caterpillar, chrysalis, or cocoon (all immature stages of moths or butterflies) maybe kept in a wire cage. Caterpillars must be supplied with fresh leaves from the plant on which they were found. Tadpoles should be kept in an aquarium (a glass tank with water in it) with algae for food. It takes from a few days to a few months for a tadpole to become a frog. When this happens it must have something to climb out on above the water, such as a large rock or pile of smaller rocks. Frogs must be fed live insects or worms.

The Smallest Living Things

Some living organisms are so small they cannot be seen with the unaided eye. Some are visible with a low-powered microscope or a magnifying glass; others can be seen only with a high-powered microscope.

Under a microscope or through a magnifying glass look at a drop of water from a pond, lake, or stream. Among the living things you may see in it are the amoeba, the planarian, and the water flea (or daphnia). You may be able to see the individual algae, organisms that form the scum on certain bodies of water, or even colonies of some of the larger of the one-celled organisms known as bacteria.

Learning About Non-living Things

Clouds

You can learn to recognize the various forms of clouds. You may even be able to forecast the weather by looking at the clouds. If the clouds are white and high up in the sky, the weather will probably be pleasant for many hours. If there are big, dark clouds low in the sky, there will probably soon be either snow or rain, depending on the time of year.

The Night Sky

On a clear night, especially if the moon is not too bright, you can see millions of heavenly bodies shining in the sky. Most of them are stars, but some of them are planets, heavenly bodies that revolve around the sun. Stars shine by their own light; planets, by light reflected from the sun.

The earth is a planet. Of the other planets, you can easily see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with the unaided eye. With binoculars or a telescope, you can see Uranus and Neptune. Pluto can be seen only with a very powerful telescope.

As you look at them from the earth, the stars make certain patterns in groups called constellations. It is interesting to learn their names and how to recognize them. To make your own maps of constellations that you can see, stick gummed silver paper stars on blue construction paper in the patterns of the constellations, one constellation to each sheet of paper. A field book of astronomy will show you how to locate planets and constellations.

Rock Collections

You may collect rocks by picking them up off the ground, or by chipping them off large boulders or cliffs. Small round, smooth rocks have been worn smooth by water. Rocks that have been exposed a long time to the weather may be different in appearance on the outside than on the inside. Often the inside of a rock will be bright in color, from one or more of the minerals from which it is made. To find out, break off a piece of the rock with a hammer, but first cover the rock with a piece of burlap or canvas to keep rock chips from striking your face.

As you collect and identify each rock, write a number on a piece of gummed paper or adhesive tape and stick it on the rock. Write the name of the rock beside its number in your notebook. You can keep a rock collection in egg cartons, or in shallow partitioned wooden boxes.