Introducing Natural History Clubs!

Looking to build or find community in your area?

Looking to build or find community in your area? Wishing you had a way to invite your extended family, neighbors, colleagues, or other friends into a relational education and time outdoors?

Our new Natural History Club resources provide a fun and accessible way for you to embark on guided outdoor adventures with friends. You'll deepen your love and observation of nature. With others.

Our hope is that CMI Natural History Clubs will foster wide community and a deep love and understanding of the world around us. Join us?

embark on guided outdoor adventures with friends

Once club leaders register your group, you'll receive everything you need to set out as a family, school, neighborhood, or group of friends for a year of monthly guided nature visits to three different ecosystems and habitats.

Our natural history guides allow you to open and go, equipped with background info, observation ideas, and reflection questions. Club participants are also invited to attend periodic Zoom calls with experts to share observations, strategize, and ask questions as we grow in wonder together.

background info, observation ideas, and reflection questions.

The guides are written to for use across North America and so are purposefully broad and aimed at ecological themes which will translate well into a variety of different climates. This year, the guides focus on encouraging participants to observe relationships within a landscape. What vegetation do you see? Do you start to notice that certain plants appear together, or in certain locations? What animals do you see? How are animals interacting with the vegetation? Do you see the same animals around the same type of vegetation? Ecologists refer to specific types of landscapes as ecological communities. A certain type of geology and elevation will result in a specific type of vegetation, and specific animal species adapted to that environment and vegetation. While this guide does not use textbook language, the goal is for participants to begin understanding landscapes as a community.

Visit our Natural History Club page to view a guide sample and register your group. Then be sure to tag us on social media with #CMINatureClubs to share your finds!