Welcome to the homepage for Nature Kids, Green Venture’s drop-off program for children aged 5-11. Nature Kids aims to help children get outside, engage with nature, and stay active.

Registration for the 2024 Spring Season of Nature Kids is Open!

The Spring 2024 series will run on Thursdays from May 9 – June 6 from 4:30pm – 6pm at EcoHouse, 22 Veevers Drive. Children in the program are able to be dropped off up to thirty minutes before the start time at each sessions. Registration is now open and caregivers can register their child using the following link here. Once registered, we will follow up via email to either confirm registration or to confirm your spot on the waitlist for the upcoming season of Nature Kids.

We are excited to be able to offer this series of Green Venture’s Nature Kids program for free! It is open to all Hamilton area children aged 5 to 11, with priority given to individuals belonging to equity seeking groups. We also have a few spots for helpers which will be open to children ages 12 and 13, interested participants should contact us by email (naturekids@greenventure.ca) for more information.

Our program is run in English, but we also have a Spanish registration form available for those who need it. Contact us at naturekids@greenventure.ca with any questions or for more information.

If you or your child is over the age of 14 and looking to earn volunteer hours we are currently recruiting for volunteer guides, find more information and apply to volunteer here or contact us via email.

Past Sessions

Fall 2023

Winter Nature Kids was chill-tastic! Over the five weeks we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek looking for fossils and clay. Some of our favourite nature activities included: box sledding, making paint from clay shale, playing tree games, making crystals on evergreen branches, and so much more! As always, Nature Kids would not be possible without our amazing group guides!

Check out a few pictures from our Winter 2024 series below!

kids use clay paint to make paintings of animals and flowers
a group of kids and volunteers push a gigantic snow ball toward two children crawling away from it and laughing
a cedar branch sits in a cup for a crystal experiment
a child with an orange hat smiles standing beside his clay painting of a bunny that a staff member helped him draw
kids make a nest out of branches and evergreen needles
kids around a table make drawings on pieces of paper. there is a bowl of clay paint they dip their brushes in
kids build a structure while a small child investigates ground vegetation
a small child holds up his painting
kids stand around a table playing with sticks and branches
a child in a long black coat makes a snow sculpture
kids sled down a hill on boxes
kids go sledding down the cedar hill. a mini snowperson sits by the hill
kids sit in a large group watching a staff member demonstrate how to tap a maple tree
kids stand around a table making their evergreen crystals
two kids sit by on a tree root system on the creek bank holding nets
a group of kids in colourful parkas stand around the bank of the creek

Fall Nature Kids was awesome! Over the five weeks we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek looking for crayfish and water bugs. Some of our favourite nature activities included: shelter building, scavenger hunts, spore print making, leaf mask painting, pigment experiments, and so much more!  We were really lucky to have a great group of volunteer guides this series, and we couldn’t have done it without them.

Check out a few pictures from our Fall 2023 series below!

Green Venture volunteers with small animal nets leading kids for a learning walk through a forest with a creek
Children doing crafts at a table with pumpkins
A child with a net sitting on a tree in the forest
Photo from NatureKids of children learning how to build crafts out of branches
Children in the forest creek learning about nature care and carrying small nets
squirrel eating a nut in a pine tree
Summer 2023

Summer Nature Kids was definitely the highlight of our summer! Over the one week we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek enjoying the sunny weather. Some of our favourite nature activities included: paper making with old paper, building solar ovens, gardening, learning about seed germination with beans, shelter building, scavenger hunts, and so much more!  We were really lucky to have a great group of volunteer guides this series, we couldn’t have done it without them.

Check out a few pictures from our summer 2023 series below.

nature kid participant and staff making paper using a mesh frame.
A volunteer in a safety jacket stands beside kids with nets by a forest river
A Nature Kids participant mixed paint at a table
group of nature kid participants sitting on a picnic blanket on a field. all looking at different directions
three nature kid participants painting on a paper that reads nature kids
two nature kids participants crouching over a white tub with creek critters.
nature kid participant using chalk to draw a rainbow on side walk
picture of nature kids artworks made of forest litter and flowers
nature kid participant holding a bunny
two nature kid participants making paper on a red deck using a mesh frame.
nature kid participant smiling and holding a fake tree
group of nature kids participants sitting underneath a tarp they built as a shelter eating snacks.
two volunteers and a nature kids participant smiling at the camera
Spring 2023

Spring Nature Kids was a blooming with new friends and nature fun! We were really lucky to have a great group of volunteer guides this series, we couldn’t have done it without them. Over the 5 sessions we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek enjoying the weather in both shine and rain. We learned about pollination by making milkweed seed balls, gardening by planting radish seeds, did some bird watching to learn about our native birds, and so much more!

Check out a few pictures from our spring 2023 series below.

four nature kid participants looking at a white table cloth that has advice on how to stop fast fashion.
Two nature kids participants leaning over a white bucket with critters they found in a creek.
nature kid participant looking at rocks by the creekside
nature kids participants holding up shirts that they have up-cycled
artwork on blue construction paper. art work has dandelions on top of drawing of green grass at the bottom of the paper. the top of the paper has clouds drawn on.
Winter 2023

Winter 2023 was a whole lot of fun and we so enjoyed the winter weather with an awesome group of Nature Kids! We were really lucky to have a great group of volunteer guides this series, we couldn’t have done it without them. Over the 5 sessions we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek enjoying the weather in both snow and rain.  We exercised our creativity through things like, shelter building, making nature based valentines, participated in season activities like maple tree tapping and tobogganing in the snow, as well as participate in stewardship of the environment through things like planting tree seeds, learning to compost and so much more.

Check out a few pictures from our winter 2023 series below.

smile child lies on the snowy ground while another one use the snow to make an outline around her.
a group of children gather around a tapped maple tree while a staff member explains what their looking at.
a small child wearing a bright pink hat sits in a cardboard box and is pushed down a snowy hill by a volunteer.
one child points to the sky excitedly while another looks to see what is there.
two children work together to create a snow sculpture.
two children crouch by the creek, one dips their hand in while the other looks intently at something they caught in their dip net.
a group of children and guides gather around the local creek.
4 children gather around a vermicomposting bin.
a group of small children gather around a table with art and nature materials.
a staff member passes a spoon to a child to dig in the snow.
Fall 2022

We learned so much fall 2022 with an awesome group of Nature Kids! We were really lucky to have a helper (ages 11-13) for each of our three groups this series, we couldn’t have done it without them. Over the 5 sessions we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek, exercise our creativity through things like, seed ball making, pumpkin carving, and bird feeder making, as well as participate in stewardship of the environment through things like planting tress, picking up garbage, learning to compost and so much more.

Check out a few pictures from our fall 2022 series below.

Two young children stand at a table with nature items spread across. one holds a dip net above a bucket full of water.
A child and staff member crouch down to examine something in the creek.
A staff member holds an orange garbage bag while chilrden stand around gathering waste.
a group of kids look for birds with monoculars.
A neat row of carved pie pumpkins.
A child proudly holds up a bird feeder made of a pinecone and bird seed.
a child investigates a bin of supplies while dissecting and owl pellet.
a child considers how to add to her decorations on her apple snowman shaped snack.
a group of kids huddle together while playing a game in the dark.
a group of children play and active game outside in the dark.
a large group photo on a red wooden deck.
Summer 2022

This summer week of Nature Kids was definitely a major highlight in our summer! Over the 5 days we got to spend quality time in nature at EcoHouse and at our local creek and learned so much about nature and ourselves. some series highlights include: flower pounding, painting bird friendly windows, building shelters, constructing rafts and testing them at the local creek and so much more!

Check out a few pictures from our summer 2022 series below.

A group of 4 children sitting around a large piece of cardboard arranging plants on white squares of cloth
A group of children gathered around a blue vermicomposting bin outside on a red deck.
A child crouching low to the ground in a field holding a monocular up to their eye.
2 children painting on the exterior of some windows to prevent birds from flying into them.
a ground of kids sleeping curled up in balls underneath a tent made of a green tarp.
a groups of children and their teenaged leader sitting in a circle building rafts out of sticks
4 children standing at a table rolling clay to make seed balls of native pollinator friendly plants.
Three girls sitting on the ground colouring
Two children at the creek one child smiles widely while another looks to see what they have found in their net.
a group of children explore the local creek, some are in the water and others on the rocky bed.
Spring 2022

We wrapped up our spring series of Nature Kids in May 2022. We had so much fun experiencing nature with this amazing group of kids in all different kinds of weather, from cold to hot and rainy to sunny it was a blast! Over the six weeks, we explored EcoHouse’s grounds, made maple syrup, learned how to Identify different species of trees, explored our local creek, learned all about birds, grew some radishes, fed composting worms, dissected owl pellets, and foraged for and ate some tasty dandelions.

Check out a few pictures from our spring series below.

4 small children stand outside around a white table covered with pieces of coniferous trees. An adult leader is pointing at one of the items to bring it to the children's attention.
a group of children wearing winter gear crowd around a leader with a vermicomposting bin. inside the bin worm casting can be seen while the leader digs in it with a shovel.
A group of children planting radish seeds in small terracotta colored pots
the stem of a maple tree, has been taped and there is a large blue bucket hanging off of it to collect maple sap. A group of children look inside to see the sap that has collected. To the left there is another image of a young girl holding the lid to the maple sap bucket.
A young boy makes a heart with his fingers beside a leader holding a garbage collection bag.
A group of children running towards the camera in front of EcHouse, a historic pre-confederate stone farmhouse.
Two children look at a table covered with little bones extracted from owl pellets.
A group of children are exploring a small creek, the sky is overcast and the are dressed for rain.
Three young children are standing on a stone bank in front of water. the center child in using a large blue net to scoop something out of the water while the other two watch.
Three small children eating dandelion fritters from flowers they harvested themselves.
Fall 2021

Our fall series of Nature Kids ended on October 26, 2021. While we’re sad this series is over, but we are so glad that we got to explore outdoors with such an amazing group. Over the six weeks, we explored EcoHouse’s grounds, pressed leaves, found crawfish in our local creek, fed composting worms, built a shelter, made milkweed seed balls, and carved local pumpkins.

Check out a few pictures from our fall series below.

Nature Kids logo

Nature Kids is a dynamic recreation program that focuses on increasing children’s physical activity and fostering a deep connection to nature through new skills such as gardening and nature exploration. Nature Kids Youth Eco Adventure programming is generously supported in 2022 by the Ed Smee Grant from the Conserver society of Hamilton and District as well as the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. In our 2020 and 2021 season we were supported by a SEED Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and in 2020 by the Ed Smee Grant from the Conserver Society of Hamilton and District and the City Enrichment Fund of the City of Hamilton: