As many accidental home-schooling teachers (aka parents) are running low on new ideas for sparking educational excitement in their equally accidental students, Midcoast Conservancy has some ways to make a day outside more fun and meaningful. From adventure-based to informational, there is something to fit any family’s nature curriculum.

Geocaching is like a giant scavenger hunt, where one clue leads a sleuth to the next. In the case of the Midcoast Conservancy geocache, clues will take participants to three different preserves in search of the final spot. Details about this challenge, along with an overview of geocaching, are available online at https://bit.ly/MCgeocache AmeriCorps volunteer Tucker Stevenson created the first installment, and he’s available for consultation at tucker@midcoastconservancy.org

All three of Midcoast Conservancy’s AmeriCorps members have been busy making short, family-friendly videos about outdoor adventure topics. Subjects include reading a topographical map (and how to make one with a potato!), identifying lichens, safety tips for hiking, and birdhouse building. To see all of these videos (and know where to look for future weekly installments), one can go to the Midcoast Conservancy Outdoor Adventure YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/OAvideos

For more unstructured nature time, Hidden Valley Nature Center, in Jefferson, offers over 25 miles of trails within the 1,000 acre preserve including one to a kettle hole bog that can be viewed up close from a boardwalk that extends into its center. Spring is a beautiful time for bogs; an array of unusual and fascinating plants emerge nearly daily through the season. Little Dyer Pond lies about a mile’s hike in from the parking lot for water’s edge exploration, and vernal pools abound throughout the preserve. Leashed dogs are welcome at HVNC and hunting is not permitted so it offers a safe hiking spot during the May turkey season.

Midcoast Conservancy has 55 preserves throughout the Midcoast area. More information and trail maps can be found at https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/explore/land-water-trails/ Email info@midcoastconservancy with any questions.