Nature Connections for Families

A gentle morning filled with activities and opportunities to connect with the desert around us and each other. 

This is an ADA-accessible leisurely activity - less than 2 miles with little or no elevation gain, shade and seating may be available. 

Luke Warner is a certified Nature & Forest Therapy Guide living in Joshua Tree, CA. Luke has guided in-person groups and regular online natural kinship groups with teenagers and has also worked with folks ranging from gyms to local LGBTQ+ charities.

Itinerary: Hospitality & welcome intro (incl. land acknowledgment, hazard awareness, etc.), group introductions, activity examples for before and after the break, scavenger Hunt, a handout with shapes and textures to find in the desert, young people can pair up or work with a parent/carer, frames, use cardboard frames to tune in to the little things that you see around you, find something in your frame and share the view with someone else, try to find faces or shapes in the rocks and point them out to other people, do they see what you see or do they see something else, camouflaged animals, brown kraft paper, glue sticks, and sand. Prompts like mountain lion, bighorn sheep, antelope squirrels, and desert iguanas are offered. Kids draw shapes with glue on the paper and sprinkle sand on the glue to bring them to life. During the break: rest and snacks (brought from home) - read Byrd Baylor's book aloud. 

Participants must bring water and snacks from home for the course, weather protection (caps, long sleeves, closed-toe shoes, additional layers), and something to sit on if folks don’t want to sit on the ground.

Photo credit: NPS/Glauco Puig-Santana