Nature Pals Exchange

A friend clued me into Nature Pals Exchange where you get linked up with other families around the US and send each other foliage from your area. As you know we were very busy in September but we managed to gather enough in our recent park visits to hit the 10/10 deadline.

It's possible I had more fun with this than the girls did, but we all definitely enjoyed learning about our area. I struggled with ideas for sending leaves without having them get destroyed, and then it occurred to me - use our laminator! I love our laminator.

Starting from top left: Canadian Geese feathers + picture, Horse Chestnut leaves (toxic), Douglas Fir needles, Vine Maple leaves, Himalayan Blackberry leaves, American Chestnut leaf (edible), printed description of Horse chestnut vs American chestnut, printed history of Seattle's blackberries (they're not native!). In the box is a pine cone, a horse chestnut, an American chestnut (closed) and an American chestnut (open).

Links to the printables if you're interested:

• Horse Chestnuts vs American Chestnuts
• The Strange, Twisted Story behind Seattle's Blackberries

Our Nature Pal is also running a bit late so we don't know what foliage in Georgia is like yet, but she's been in touch so it's only a matter of time!