The Nature Activity Book 
Written by Rachel Hayden and illustrated by Pippa Keel
Te Papa Press,
pub: 2020

10 November 2020

As I flick through the fresh thick pages of The Nature Activity Book, I know this is the book for me. This one-of-a-kind book published in August 2020 is a brand new book with a whopping 176 pages of 99 amazing ideas for activities. What are the activities you say? Well, I am glad you asked my dear reader!

There are a variety of activities; some are about using your senses, others get you to be more active and some even test your abilities on making different creations. But I can tell you one thing: all these incredible ideas revolve around one theme: nature.

This book encourages you to look closer at nature itself. After you take the time to look closer, you then spot the different flaws and perfections in nature’s world, opening your eyes to its beauty.

The new experiences that you will encounter will lead you on a journey itself, taking you new places that only nature knows. It shares its secrets with you because the activities teach you to look, using a different perspective.

Having the time to respect and love nature is a critical aspect in these activities. With time and devotion, you will learn new skills and become one with nature itself. Open your eyes to the impact that you are making on the world by looking at your water use, rubbish, shopping attitudes etc. By doing so, you can choose to easily change what you do when you go to a supermarket or how much water you use, to ensure you are helping the environment. There is also an activity designed for composting which helps get rid of compositable scraps so all those scraps do not go to the landfill and can be used as a great fertiliser for your garden.

In this activity book you can write on many of the pages, so you do not have to go on a wild goose chase for pieces of paper to write and draw on. This means you get to keep a record of what you have accomplished.

With the activities you adore, you are free to repeat them as many times as you desire. You are likely to find multiple activities or ideas that will capture you and you will treasure forever. I bet you will encounter at least one that makes you feel like you need to share it with other people, because these activities are a once in a lifetime opportunity. My favourite activity is Nature’s Dyes, which uses plant pigments to make dyes. You can then use these dyes to create different coloured fabrics. If you are stuck on where to find light coloured fabric you can look all around your house to see if you have any e.g. clothes, pillowcases, but remember to check with your caregivers first. I am creating a new selection of tie dye clothes, for my friend and myself.

In some of the activities, you may need to alter them just a smidge so they will work properly.  For instance, the Finding Tawhirimatea’s Wind Tamariki  (which is a device that tells you which way the wind is coming from), I found that I needed to alter one side because one of them was heavier than the other. I chose to play around with attaching some Blu -Tack to the triangle (the lightest side) to create an even weight, which made it work perfectly.

Most of the items you need for these mind-blowing activities can be found around your house so you do not need to pester your parents about buying the things that you will need. But if you do not have some of the objects you can just improvise.

Whiile I found the glossary was very helpful to explain terms used in the book, I would really have liked an index which would have provided a quick way to find the activities I was searching for. Get your sticky post-it notes ready or a few bookmarks so you can mark the activities you want to work on. If you are like me, you will not start at the start of the book and work your way through: I went straight to the activities that inspired me the most.

I think this book is great for everybody. You can do it with your Mum or Dad, children or grandchildren, brother or sister… the options are endless. It will also be handy for schools to get the children involved in outdoor activities and to learn what nature has to offer. Some activities in this book will require an adult’s assistance. This will depend on the person’s capability.

Nature is a world of its own; it follows Mother Nature’s path to conquer greatness and is a very important aspect in our world. If we did not have nature we would be lost, completely lost.

• Takoda Cross is 11 years old and lives in Nelson