Family: Help kids appreciate nature

With May’s milder weather, it’s a great time to get everybody outside for a stroll. Nature is alive with blooming plants and nesting and egg-laying creatures of all sorts.

Following are three easy family hikes with nice diversions for budding naturalists. They can help the youngsters develop a healthy curiosity about — and respect for — their environs.

Try poking around swampy areas for frogs, tadpoles and salamanders. Bring a magnifying glass to examine plants, insects and rocks. Don’t forget binoculars for bird watching. Look for animal tracks and signs of nesting activity. Try your hand at identifying birds by their calls. Start with an easy bird such as the robin, and soon you’ll hear more complicated calls.

Remember to dress appropriately and to bring snacks and water.

Three places to hike with kids:

• Lake Whatcom Trail. Follow North Shore Drive until it ends at a parking lot on the left. Take the ungated path to the right. There are nice waterfalls and places along the shore to play.

• Stimpson Family Nature Reserve. Take Lakeway east to Austin Street-Lake Louise Road. Follow the road uphill and around a few bends to a parking area on the left. Check out the beaver pond for amphibians and their eggs.

• Tennant Lake Park in Ferndale. Take Interstate 5 to exit 262. Turn west; follow Main Street until just before the Nooksack River. Make a hard left (almost doubling backward) onto Hovander Drive, and then right onto Nielsen Avenue. Wear good shoes — the boardwalk can be swampy in spring.