My Adventure at the Fort Worth Nature Center

My family and I went to the Fort Worth Nature Center on May 16, 2012.  By going, and telling what I saw, I am completing requirement 4 for the Naturalist Activity Badge.  Additionally, requirement 8 is to find six animals in the wild, tell what kind of place they were in, and what they were doing.  While at the Nature Center, I saw all six required animals, and I will discuss them in this post.

While we were there, we hiked on several trails.  The first trail was through a forest on an island.  On that trail, we saw a hawk flying, a crane walking in some sand, and a turtle laying down in the grass.

The second trail, was through a prairie.  On that trail, we saw bison roaming and eating grass as well as  prairie dogs running around, and another hawk flying.

Here are just a few of the bison that we saw.

On the next trail that we hiked, which included a boardwalk that crossed a marsh, we saw a heron standing on the boardwalk and a catfish swimming.

This is the catfish we saw swimming in the marsh, which we took a picture of from the boardwalk.

The Nature Center also had a visitor's center, where we saw two owls that had been hit by a car.  One of these owls had a bad eye, and neither of them can be released back into the wild.

This is the owl with the bad eye, followed by the sign on his cage that tells about him.

The visitor's center also had a cross-section of a Pecan tree that was 156 years old.  On it, they had marked big things that had happened during the trees life, including the end of World War II, Fort Worth becoming a city, and Lake Worth being built.  We also looked at a tree stump along the first trail we hiked and discussed how you can tell the age of the tree by counting the rings.  (This took care of requirement 6 for the Forester Activity Badge.)

There was also a giant swallowtail, which is a type of butterfly, pictured here:

This was our adventure to the Fort Worth Nature Center, where we had a lot of fun, and accomplished some of the requirements for the Naturalist Activity Badge!!

Naturalist Activity Badge

Here is a list of the requirements for earning the Naturalist Activity Badge, which looks like this:

Do these:

1)   With your parent, guardian, or Webelos den leader, complete the Respect Character Connection.

•        Know: Tell what interested you most while completing the requirements for this activity badge.  Tell what you learned about how you can show appreciation and respect for wildlife.
•       Commit: Tell things that some people have done that show a lack of respect for wildlife.   Name ways you will show respect for and protect wildlife.
•        Practice: Explain how completing the requirements for this activity badge gives you the opportunity to show respect.

And do five of these:

2)   Keep an “insect zoo” that you have collected.  You might have crickets, ants, or grasshoppers.  Study them for a while then release them.   Share your experience with your Webelos den. 

3)   Set up an aquarium or a terrarium.  Keep it for at least a month.  Share your experience with your Webelos den by showing them photos or drawings of your project, or having them visit to see your project.

4)   Visit a museum of natural history, a nature center, or a zoo with your family, Webelos den, or pack.  Tell what you saw.

5)   Watch for birds in your yard, neighborhood, or town for one week.  Identify the birds you see and write down where and when you saw them.

6)   Learn about the bird flyways closest to your home.  Find out which birds use these flyways.

7)   Learn to identify poisonous plants and venomous reptiles in your area. 

8)   Watch six wild animals (snakes, turtles, fish, birds, or mammals) in the wild.  Describe the kind of place (forest, field, marsh, yard, or park) where you saw them.  Tell what they were doing.

9)   Give examples of:

•         A producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in the food chain of an ecosystem.
•        One way humans have changed the balance of nature.
•        How you can help protect the balance of nature.

10)           Identify a plant, bird, or wild animal that is found only in your area of the country.  Tell why it     survives only in your area. 

11)           Learn about aquatic ecosystems and wetlands in your area.  Discuss with your Webelos den leader or activity badge counselor the important role aquatic ecosystems and wetlands play in supporting lifecycles or wildlife and humans.

12)           Look around your neighborhood and identify how litter might be dangerous to the birds and other animals.  Clean up the litter.  Identify what else you might do to make your neighborhood safer for animals. 

13)           While you are a Webelos scout, earn the Cub Scout Academics belt loop for Wildlife Conservation.