Children interested in nature can find many things to do in the state of Georgia. Numerous state parks offer kid-friendly outdoor activities, including fishing and nature education. Conservation centers help children learn about certain types of animals while crafts using items like Georgia wildflowers inspire children's imaginations and love of the outdoors.
Fishing
There are numerous spots to take a child fishing in Georgia. Areas for kid-friendly fishing, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, include the Amicalola Falls State Park and the Buford Fish Hatchery Kid's Pond. The Amicalola Falls State Park includes a 729-foot waterfall, the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River, while the Buford Fish Hatchery Kid's Pond includes a catch-and-release family pond featuring bluegill and catfish.
Nature Walking & Canoeing Tours
The Wilderness Southeast is a nonprofit educational organization that hosts expert-led nature tours that encourage love of nature in children as well as a day's worth of exercise. Tours include the Alligators and Anhingas tour, which meets at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge and features views of alligators, turtles, egrets, herons and birds of prey. Their Blackwater Paddle Tour includes basic canoeing instruction before your guide takes you downstream to explore the area's ecosystem. The tour meets in Rincon, Georgia. Reservations are required (see Resources).
Junior Ranger Opportunities
The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area offers outdoor activities for children and adults including camping, hiking, swimming, wildlife sightseeing and canoeing and also provides the opportunity for children to become junior rangers. Junior rangers learn how to identify plants and animals. They also learn about the river's history as well as park safety and conservation measures. Kids will stay active running, swimming and hiking through the park. Fifty miles of trails in this area wind through forests and mountains. The area's Lake Lanier includes a beach and water park.
Earthworm Beds
Wildlife kids projects include building an earthworm bed. This is accomplished by using an old swimming pool, sandbox, concrete blocks, wood or rocks. Children will be able to work muscles shoveling and moving dirt as well as carrying rocks or similar objects. Pile dirt at least two feet deep and add items like chicken or rabbit manure, old newspaper, coffee grounds and organic mulch such as grass clippings, raked leaves, pine straw and wood chips. Water the bed, not to the point of saturation, and add the earthworms. Earthworm beds teach children the importance of worms for soil aeration and are alternatives when cats and dogs are not allowed as pets.
Horseback Riding
Take your child horseback riding through one of Georgia's state parks. Some parks include stall rental, riding rings and designated camping areas for horse owners. Riders pay a fee for equestrian trail use. Parks with designated horse trails include A.H. Stephens Park, Hard Labor Creek, F.D. Roosevelt, Fort Mountain, General Coffee and Watson Mill Bridge State Park. Horses can be rented for short rides or overnight trips at privately-owned stables at F.D. Roosevelt and Fort Mountain parks.
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