Blog

You know that feeling when you discover something amazing you’d always overlooked? It’s like discovering the bit of quartz you’d kicked around was a diamond. Well, I had one of those moments last weekend in Collie. I visited Collie a few times back when I was a journalist with the Southwestern Times, and I was […]

This Saturday (29 June) is one of our favourite days of the year. A day dedicated to getting as messy, squishy and dirty as possible… What are we talking about? International Mud Day, of course! International Mud Day was created in 2009 when West Australian teacher Gillian McAuliffe and Bishnu Bhatta from Nepal met at […]

The Nature Play WA team have compiled a list of Christmas craft projects that families can have a crack at this December. The lead-up to Christmas can often feel more stressful than is necessary. There are presents to hunt down, cards to write, seemingly endless end-of-year events, and perpetual planning for Christmas Day. Add a […]

With the overwhelming options of toys and gadgets replete with requisite bells and whistles on sale for Christmas, it’s sometimes hard to find simple, economical gifts that children will cherish and use through the whole year, once the Christmas season (and the initial excitement of something new) has passed.  With this in mind, the team at […]

Do you know your orchids from your everlastings? Your wattles from your Mulla Mulla? Did you know that 60% of Western Australia’s wildflowers aren’t found anywhere else in the world? Now’s the perfect time to get outdoors and explore WA’s spectacular array of wildflowers (more than 12,000 species!) with the kids. There’s adventure potential for […]

The presence of animals, like bees, frogs and children can tell you about the health of the ecosystems that support them. Scientists call them indicator species. OK, so children aren’t actually on that list. But maybe they should be. What better indicates the health of a human community than the noise, snot, and tumble of […]

It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday.  This Sunday.  So if you’re a mum, it’s meant to be your day. Meant to be.  Your day.  But does it ever actually turn out that way? Are you also a daughter and daughter-in-law, who is responsible for celebrating other mums in your life as well as being celebrated yourself?  […]

A young Frenchman waved us down as we drove from Cape Le Grand National Park toward Esperance. He was on his way to Melbourne. Or at lead he had been, until the battery in his van failed to wake by key, or cable, in the morning. We talked on the way into town and he […]

At any playground, on any given day, you’ll hear (or deliver) the call of the harried parent; “Be careful!” Sometimes it’s said with a sense of warning, other times it’s almost a threat, but invariably it falls on deaf ears.  Why?  Because although we as parents can see (or foresee) the problem/risk/danger we want our […]

Sea Monkeys. Sea. Monkeys. I’m talking about magic monkeys, saved from a far away dying ocean-planet, that spring to life, from dust, when they touch the sweet, sweet, water of a suburban aquarium. Once hatched they grow little monkey fingers, curly tails and darty eyes and become lifelong companions who sit in a pint glass […]