Articles

All articles were authored by Jacob Rodenburg

For more than 35 years, I’ve been writing about children, nature and the many ways we can help people build a deeper relationship with the living world. This collection brings together articles on nature connection, outdoor learning, environmental education, seasonal discovery and Earth stewardship, along with practical activities educators and families can try for themselves.

Click on an image below to read or download the article.

A page from a magazine or book with several handmade brushes made from natural plant materials like pine needles, grass, and twigs, tied with blue string. The text discusses making natural paint brushes and creating natural ink from berries and other plants.

A Brush With Nature

A webpage titled 'A Tapestry of Colour' displaying an article about nature activities, with a bicycle saddle and green paint color samples at the bottom.

A Tapestry of Colour

A young boy with blond hair, wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and tan pants, walking in a wooded forest on a trail covered with fallen leaves, holding a stick in his right hand.

Art of Stalking Fall

Page from a botanical or gardening guide titled 'All About Balsam' with text and a large green pine or fir tree branch with needles on the right side.

Balsam Fir

A young child sitting outdoors on a blanket, holding a large yellow maple leaf with trees and fallen leaves in the background.

Beyond BeLeaf

Two children in a backyard; the child on the left has blonde hair and is wearing a dark sweater, looking down on a fallen tree log; the child on the right has short dark hair, wearing glasses and a pink vest, holding a magnifying glass and examining pink flowers.

Beyond the Green Blur

Two-page spread of a magazine or book article titled "Touching the Earth" with text discussing nature activities for kids, and an image of a book cover titled "The Big Book of Nature Activities".

Big Book of Nature Activities

A printable page about fireflies, their behavior, attracting them to gardens, and making firefly night lights, with a picture of fireflies in a jar at night.

Calling All Fireflies

Close-up of snow-covered pine tree branches with icicles hanging from the needles, with a snowy background. The article titled 'Cool Winter Sounds' is visible on the page.

Cool Winter Sounds

A pond with floating lily pads and tall grass reflections on the water's surface, with a poem overlayed on the right side about underwater creatures and alien life.

Dragonflies — The Alien Next Door

A magazine page with a headline 'Enjoying the Gifts of Winter, Naturally' and a picture of glowing ice lanterns on a cold winter evening. The page includes text about winter activities, crafts, and decoration ideas, with a footer indicating it is from a Kids Corner section in a Christmas magazine from 2021.

Enjoying the Gifts of Winter

A white flower growing among green leaves and brown fallen leaves on the forest ground.

Explore the Forest

Celebrating the Very Small

Photograph of a rusty, winding snake on a ground covered with dry leaves, twigs, and natural debris.

Explore the Forest

Through Basement Windows

A small bird perched on a person's hand, feeding on sunflower seeds from the palm. The bird is black and white, with a sharp beak, likely a chickadee or similar species, against a blurry sky background.

For the Birds

Photo of three children lying on snow in winter, smiling and wearing winter clothing including hats, jackets, and gloves.

From Inside to Outside

Close-up of a clear sphere covered in glittering, ice-like crystals, with text overlay about frozen bubbles and winter wind dancers.

Frozen Bubble

A close-up photograph of a green frog with golden eyes, partially submerged in water, with definition of frog sounds and types listed below.

Get to Know Your Frog Songs

Cover of a magazine titled 'Green Teacher' featuring a boy in a tree surrounded by green leaves. The magazine is titled 'A Pathway to Stewardship' with additional headlines about outdoor education and science. The issue is Summer 2017, Issue 113, priced at $7.95.

Pathway to Stewardship & Kinship

Green Teacher feature

Various pressed flowers including a purple clematis, a purple columbine, and other flowers, arranged for a craft activity.

Hammered Plants

Nature Craft

Group of children with a supervising adult playing and exploring near a pond or stream, holding nets and looking at the water.

Hidden Life of Ponds

A bird's nest with five pale blue eggs resting on dried grass and twigs, surrounded by green grass.

Hiding in Plain Sight

A magazine spread featuring an article about bird eggs and camouflage. The left page shows a close-up of a bird with brown, black, and white feathers, while the right page displays a colorful bird egg with a mottled pattern of orange, black, green, and blue on a bed of twigs and dirt.

Hiding in Plain Sight (2)

A page from a guide about how animals keep warm in winter, featuring a list of animals with circles showing their size ranges in centimeters and inches, alongside a photo of a woodpecker on a tree trunk with a 'Go on Hole Patrol!' sign.

Hole Patrol

A snowy landscape with snow-covered trees in the background. In the foreground, there is a partially built snow fort or structure made from snow blocks. To the right, a snow shovel is partially visible. The image appears to be part of a magazine or article page about building a snow fort, with text below the image explaining how to build one.

How to Build a Snow Fort

A two-page spread of a magazine or book about autumn activities and leaf skeletons. The left page has a smiling girl with red hair wearing a yellow jacket and a brown hat, next to a basket of yellow autumn leaves. The right page contains text instructions and images related to making leaf skeletons and stained glass windows from leaves, with some small green leaves and acorns shown at the bottom.

Leaf Skeletons

A close-up photograph of a Monarch butterfly perched on a purple flower, with text on the left side of the page describing butterfly-related recipes and activities, including a butterfly potion making guide, and showcasing other butterflies at the bottom. The background is blurred greenery, and there is a pinkish hue in the lower part of the image.

Magic Butterfly Potion

Page from a magazine or book about moths, featuring a colorful Atlas moth with large wings, a chart comparing giant silkworm moth and atlas moth, and some text about moths and their characteristics.

Magnificent Moths

A page from a magazine or booklet discussing how to make backyard bird feeders and learn about birds. The page features a picture of two seed-covered bird treats shaped like hearts, with sunflower seeds and other seeds on top, and a branch with red berries in the background.

Make a Simple Bird Feeder

Magazine page with title 'Mudilicious: The Magic of Mud,' featuring photos and directions for making mud bricks and a mud kitchen, along with activities for children.

Mudlicious - The Magic of Mud

A child sitting outdoors on the ground, drawing in a nature journal with a blue pen. The child has blonde hair and is wearing a striped shirt.

Nature Journals

Image of a bird's nest with a speckled blue egg in the center, held by a person's hand. The nest is made of twigs and sits on a light-colored surface.

Nurturing Naturalist

Two children in winter clothing outdoors, one holding a notepad and the other looking at a smartphone with the iNaturalist app open, surrounded by trees and snow.

Outdoor Learning in Winter

People walking on a forest trail surrounded by tall trees.

Pathway to Stewardship

A child with brown hair holding a yellow flower close to their face outdoors, with greenery in the background.

Plug Into Nature

A stone arch bridge over a flowing creek in a lush green forest, with trees and plants surrounding it.

Nature Sculpting

A two-page magazine article titled 'Squirrelly Survival Shelter' by Jacob Rudenburg, with images of a squirrel with a nest of twigs in its mouth, a tree trunk with a nest of nestlings and leaves, and a mossy forest floor with a small green plant.

Squirrel Shelter

An open magazine with text and a large photograph of a white-tailed deer in a snowy forest. The left page contains article text about winter activities and outdoor tracking, while the right page features a close-up of a young deer standing in snow.

Take it Outside

A close-up photo of a clear ice block containing pink and green tulip flowers frozen inside.

The Beauty of Frozen Light

Close-up of dried hydrangea flowers dusted with snow, with a blurred background of other flowers and natural scenery.

The Beauty of Winter

A spread of a magazine or book page discussing fungi, featuring a photograph of a mushroom, a black-and-white illustration of a starburst pattern, and text about mushroom study and art, with title 'Putting the Fun in Fungi' and activities related to mushrooms.

Putting the Fun in Fungi

Close-up of a bird's nest with five blue eggs inside, with a blurred bird visible in the bottom left.

The Magic of Nests

A woman smelling pink and white flowers in a garden. The scene is bright and colorful, with lush greenery in the background.

The Nose Knows

The image shows a page from a publication about different types of crickets and other insects, describing their appearance, behavior, and the sounds they make. There are colorful photographs of various insects, including a field cricket, marsh meadow grasshopper, dog-day cicada, and Carolina locust, along with a table listing their species, season, and call description.

The Thrill of Cricket Trills

A man crouching outdoors next to a large tree, using a measuring stick to examine a patch of earth. The scene includes fallen leaves and a rocky background, with an article titled 'The Wonder of Worms' discussing subterranean worms, their anatomy, and their role in soil health.

The Wonder of Worms

Page from a magazine or book titled "Flutterby's: The Magic of Butterflies" featuring an image of two brown and blue butterflies on a white background with accompanying text about butterflies, their behavior, and how to attract them.

The Magic of Butterflies

A magazine or journal page with a title "Tiny Finds" and a subtitle about basement windows. The page contains text about micro-worlds, activities for discovering tiny creatures, tools needed for micro-trail creation, and nature observation tips, along with small decorative icons and section headings.

Tiny Finds

A snowy landscape with footprints and animal tracks, including rabbit, raccoon, red fox, red squirrel, ruffed grouse, and white-tailed deer, on a winter day.

Stories in the Snow

Close-up of a dandelion seed head against a blue sky with other seeds being blown away.

Wandering Seeds

Informational page about conifer trees displaying illustrations of different conifer species such as White Spruce, Black Spruce, Tamarack, White Pine, White Cedar, Jack Pine, Red Pine, and Balsam Fir, with descriptive text.

What’s Needling You?

A dark image of a cat with glowing green eyes in the center, accompanied by text about the story of luminous eyes in animals, with a row of cartoon eyes at the bottom representing different animals such as coyote, fox, rodent, bear, weasel, bird, horse, cat, dog, raccoon, skunk, deer, fox, and opossum, flying squirrel. The bottom also contains some text referencing Kids Corner, Spring into Summer 2024, and the number 59.

Those Glowing Eyes

Child wearing a gray beanie and blue jacket interacts with two blue and yellow birds in a natural outdoor setting with fallen leaves.

Who are the Critters in your Neighbourhood?

Magazine page with a winter landscape at sunset, showing snow-covered ground, leafless trees, and a bright orange sun on the horizon. The page includes an article about winter shelter and survival for animals.

Winter Shelter and Survival

Cover of the book titled "The Book of Nature Connection: 70 Sensory Activities for All Ages" by Jacob Rodenburg, showing a person holding a tree trunk and surrounding nature-themed illustrations.

Your Better Sense of Nature

Two children playing at the edge of a lake or pond, kneeling on the sand, with one child digging in the sand and the other leaning over to look at the water.

Whizzing Water Striders