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25.01.2022 kidsinnature emails are up and running again. If I have missed your order, please send it through again! Sorry about this.

23.01.2022 If you and your kids love creepy crawlies, head out to Sugarloaf Reservoir. Starting at Saddle Dam picnic area , head south along the "lake" for as far as you like. Plenty of unusual spiders and swarms of dragon flies provide interest on this walk. Then head to Dark Horse cafe in Watsons Creek, for "the best chocolate milk shake ever" (according to Bianca), great coffee for the adults and a lovely rural setting.

22.01.2022 Cranbourne Botanical Gardens sounded like a great destination. A new garden dedicated to the intriguing Australian flora, how wonderful! Unfortunately someone has taken the word "contemporary" to extremes, and the resulting landscape is reminiscent of Federation Square rather than a garden. Despite that it is worth visiting (on a mild day) to form your own opinion and to watch kids make the most of even this environment (although we were told not to climb on the rocks). Biancas comment: "Next time can we go somewhere with flowers?"

22.01.2022 This one was a winner. The McClelland Sculpture Park near Frankston is set on a large bush property with lots of tracks along which you can explore the whimsical modern art sculptures. Plenty of food for imagination for the kids! The "snuffles" sculpture inspired them so much that they invented a whole world of "blob elephants" and other creatures once they got home. And if you have a dog, you can even take him too!

21.01.2022 Autumn is hanging in there so we managed to explore another park we had not been to yet: Kurth Kiln Regional Park. The 2 km Tomahawk trail is a lovely walk along a gurgling creek with lots of little side tracks to explore. Just watch out for those leeches.

21.01.2022 We snatched what little sun was to be had at one of the best places for all seasons: Woodlands Historic Park. Two of the best walks are in my guide; today we managed to find another variant along the creek just down from the homestead. A picnic, horses, kangaroos (masses of them!), red gums and planes to watch ... Cant ask for more really!

21.01.2022 What a brilliant spring Sunday it was! Views, a picnic, bushwalking, sun and cake ... thats what we were up to at RJ Hamer Arboretum in the Dandenongs. There are many tracks in this reserve although there is next to no sign posting, so its quite easy to get disoriented. We found a short nice loop starting (and ending) at a large memorial rock just below the car park. Head along the grass track to the right and then follow this track (part of it is along a larger track) and back up to the car park. For the more enduring, there are plenty of longer tracks to explore. If you have a sweet tooth like us, dont forget to visit Cafe Beaumarchais in Sassafras afterwards ... the cakes are amazing.

21.01.2022 Admittedly I've been hibernating - wind, rain and cold are not my favourite combinations. Small nearby walks are the most we can manage. For some great ideas in the are of Manningham, have a look at these walks: http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/walking-trails

19.01.2022 Short (2 km), sweet and great for warmer days: a loop walk from Portsea Life Saving Club to London Bridge. Starting along the cliffs following the Peninsula Coastal Trail, we were greeted by a pod of dolphins frolicking in the sizable surf. London Bridge was great for exploring and cooling off our feet in the water, before heading back along the beach. And of course we followed this up with something sweet - an amazing ice cream at Mubble in Sorrento.

18.01.2022 Ah, spring ... time to stretch those legs again! Ive just discovered that Manningham Council has created a series of brochures for walks in their area, including some gorgeous places to take the kids, such as the Warrandyte River walk. You can download them here: http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au//walkinginmanningham_walk

17.01.2022 Sometimes bushwalking just doesnt appeal to the kids, and its better to just spend some time in nature without any structured activity. Many of the walks in my book have starting points where you can simply just linger, without having to do the actual walk. Try playing Bush Memory: Collect around 10 nature items (without the kids seeing what they are), then show them for about 10 seconds, and hide them. Have the kids try and find as many of those items as possible. Its a great way to start noticing all the little wonders all around us!

17.01.2022 Admittedly Ive been hibernating - wind, rain and cold are not my favourite combinations. Small nearby walks are the most we can manage. For some great ideas in the are of Manningham, have a look at these walks: http://www.manningham.vic.gov.au/walking-trails

17.01.2022 School holidays and brilliant winter weather - a great opportunity for reviewing more walks of the guide! Have a look at the alternatives we discovered for Walk 29 ... http://www.kidsinnature.com.au//walk-29-bushwalking-for-ki

16.01.2022 Maranoa Gardens Balwyn

15.01.2022 A freeway through Royal Park, a conference centre at Hanging Rock ... I despair. Unless it makes money, its worthless. And money can be made only by "private development" - the quiet enjoyment and contemplation of a natural environment, the respite from the frantic rat race, counts for nothing. Communities protest, against McDonalds in Tecoma, against the East West Link, against development at Hanging Rock .. only to be overruled by people they supposedly elected. Where will this end? Where will our kids still be able to explore nature and learn that not everything worth knowing lives on a screen?

13.01.2022 Before it gets too hot and fiery, head to one of the most beautiful bushwalking destinations in Victoria: Mount Buffalo. If your kids are adventurous and 10+ dont miss the magnificent Chalwell Galleries walk/scramble. Bianca (nearly 7) did make it but with some lifting by mum. There are plenty of other short fantastic walks in the area. Stunning.

13.01.2022 Check out my new website! Ive transferred many of the walks hidden in the Facebook timeline to this page http://www.kidsinnature.com.au/where-to-go---melbourne.html. Each walk has tags such as which age group it is for, whether you can take a dog or a pram, similar to how the walks in the book are structured. We are currently looking at revisiting all walks in the book, so stay tuned :-)

12.01.2022 A great place to explore nature doesnt have to be far from the city. The gardens of the Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen provide a beautiful natural space for the kids, with the sculptures an added bonus! But nothing beats a good climbing tree :-) www.heide.com.au

12.01.2022 "Bushwalking for Kids - Melbourne" is now available as an ebook! Its easy to refer to on an iPad or Smart Phone if youre out and about. Just visit www.kidsinnature.com.au to order and instantly download it. If you already have a paper copy and ordered through my online system, you can download it for free, just email me ([email protected]).

11.01.2022 A few weeks back we revisited the Sassafras Creek Trail, starting from just behind the Sassafras Community Centre. The first part (from Sassafras down the hill) is still beautiful - calm, cool and lovely amongst the tree ferns and following the creek. The second part however (we went to Alfred Nicholas gardens and then returned) is increasingly overgrown by blackberries and other weeds, much like in many suburban parks that arent well maintained. A bit of a worry in the Dandenongs!

09.01.2022 Despite the depressing pervasiveness of technical gadgets keeping so many kids mesmerised (not to mention the parents who allow this), it seems there is a quiet backlash going on. I have been contacted by more parents starting initiatives to get kids back into nature than ever before. One of these parents is Tania Moloney. Have a look at her ideas on http://nurtureinnature.com.au

07.01.2022 Before it gets too hot, swap a bushwalk for.a beach walk! We walked from Sandringham yacht club along the beach to the Cerberus boat house (for well deserved chips and ice cream) in Half Moon Bay. On the way back we took the cliff top walk with spectacular views. Due to the sand making for slow walking, this ends up a rather longish walk, but you could simply start closer to the boathouse. And of course linger in the sunshine!

06.01.2022 I have just found out that emails to my kidsinnature account have been rejected in the last few weeks. And I was wondering why book sales were down! If you have tried to contact me, please send me a message through Facebook or [email protected]. Hope to be up and running again soon.

05.01.2022 Such a popular destination yet wed never been there until this brilliant autumn Sunday: Hanging Rock. The kids couldnt get enough of scrambling through the labyrinth of boulders. We ate lunch perched on some rocks overlooking the Macedon Ranges. It doesnt get much better than this! Go early if you want to avoid the masses.

05.01.2022 Revisiting Bushwalking for Kids walk #5: I'm always pleased to find that the walks in the book have proven to be "timeless": they still work well and the kids still enjoy them although they are now many years older. Walk #5 is no exception. With the main waterfall area busier than we liked, we climbed up along the creek to the upper viewing area, adding a bit of adventure to this short walk. A safe option for sure footed kids over 6.

05.01.2022 A whiff of spring brought out the gardeners in the kids. Even weeding is fun when you find a nursery of baby critters under every rock. Sometimes spending time in the garden is (almost) as good as a bushwalk.

05.01.2022 See my post about Maranoa Gardens (still working out how this new layout works!). A hidden gem for young explorers!

03.01.2022 What a brilliant spring Sunday it was! Views, a picnic, bushwalking, sun and cake ... that's what we were up to at RJ Hamer Arboretum in the Dandenongs. There are many tracks in this reserve although there is next to no sign posting, so it's quite easy to get disoriented. We found a short nice loop starting (and ending) at a large memorial rock just below the car park. Head along the grass track to the right and then follow this track (part of it is along a larger track) and back up to the car park. For the more enduring, there are plenty of longer tracks to explore. If you have a sweet tooth like us, don't forget to visit Cafe Beaumarchais in Sassafras afterwards ... the cakes are amazing.

02.01.2022 Revisiting Bushwalking for Kids walk #5: Im always pleased to find that the walks in the book have proven to be "timeless": they still work well and the kids still enjoy them although they are now many years older. Walk #5 is no exception. With the main waterfall area busier than we liked, we climbed up along the creek to the upper viewing area, adding a bit of adventure to this short walk. A safe option for sure footed kids over 6.

02.01.2022 Maranoa Gardens (see photo album) is a beautiful compact botanical garden. With tracks criss-crossing its many "landscapes", its just right for little (and not so little) kids to explore. And if your kids have energy left to burn, neighboring Becketts park has a lovely wooden adventure playground and trees you are allowed to climb!

02.01.2022 School free day tomorrow for us ... Alfred Nicholas Gardens here we come :-)