Before making the necklaces, we took a closer look at the Silver Birch Tree. The children were fascinated by the look and feel of it’s amazing bark. In young trees the bark is reddish-brown, but this changes to white as they mature. The white bark is most prominent on silver birch, where it is interspersed with conspicuous black patches.

We discussed the importance of trees and why they are vital for our existence.

Birches support a large community of insects and other invertebrates, with 334 species known to feed on them-now that’s pretty impressive!

To make a Little Humbug Tree Disc Necklace you will need to hunt for a fallen branch. Autumn is a wonderful time to go hunting.

Saw your branch into thin slices. (Sizes and what you will need to make a disc necklace are available on the fact sheet below).

Samuel drilled a hole in every disk.

Time to get creative.

Check this out- Anna managed to make her necklace match her outfit- how cool is that!

For Butterfly Girls and Dragonfly Boys. These make a perfect gift for your friends.

If you would like the fact sheet on how to make a tree disc necklace, just leave a comment and I’ll email the Little Humbugs worksheet to you.

Native Americans used the bark of the birch to make: canoes, rattles, torches, moose calls
and many types of containers. Lightweight and flexible, the bark could be cut and bent to make
containers of any desired shape. Trays, dishes, storage boxes, buckets and cooking pots were made
of birch bark. The edges of the container were sewn together with plant fibers. If the edges were
sealed with pine pitch or spruce resin, the container could be used to carry water or hung over a
fire to cook a soup or stew. Birch bark cutouts or stencils often were used to decorate containers,
and also provided patterns for Native American beadwork. The white outer bark layer made a
good substitute for the paper that it resembles, and drawings could be made on it with a piece of
charcoal. Birch bark burns easily. It was shredded and used for tinder to start campfires, folded and
stuck in the cleft of a long pole to illuminate the water depths for night spear fishing, and rolled
into cylinders used as long-burning torches to light a path through the woods.

Nature provides the ultimate playground for children.

One of our favorite playgrounds is the lake shore,

where the kids can explore, run wild and find treasure.

Watch the “Let’s Go Outside” video: “Stone Art”

We like to visit the beach out of season, when it’s cooler and less people around. Even on an overcast day, it’s a magical place to explore and discover nature’s treasure.

Just like human children, the Little Humbugs love to search for treasure too… shells, rocks, pebbles and sea glass.

Can you guess what they will make with their pebbles?

Watch “Let’s Go Outside” Collecting Treasure -episode 3 to find out how to make these Hot Rocks! All you need to do is go outside and collect a few stones or pebbles and grab a few wax crayons.

I came across this wonderful craft in a book I borrowed from the library-Summer Crafts by Marjorie Galen. This is a highly addictive craft, I’m not sure who had more fun, me or the kids!

I will be posting a fact sheet for this delightful craft on the Little Humbugs website very soon (parent’s section). By now, I think most people are familiar with the meaning of -Nature Deficit Disorder, a term coined by Richard Louv.  My “Let’s Go Outside” series featuring the Little Humbugs is my small way of helping to encourage  families to have fun outdoors.

What treasure have you found lately?

Please remember to always ask permission before removing anything from the wild.

…With Mother Nature

And my Butterfly Girls are too.  They love to collect the Spring blossom to make beautiful smelling potions.

Meet ISLA -My Scottish Tweed Butterfly Girl.

Discover the MAGIC Mother Nature has to offer…

I love my two little Peach trees, a birthday gift from my children three years ago.

We are delighted to announce our partnership with the Sierra Club BC.

One of our main goals as a company has always been to try and make an impact in what we do. To that end we are delighted to be partnering with Sierra Club BC where we will donate 25% of any purchase made by members of the club. We hope that in some small way we can make a difference in helping conserve some of the worlds most precious areas.

The Sierra Club is carrying out important conservation work in places such as the Great Bear Rainforest and the Flathead River Valley, one of the most diverse and ecologically intact natural ecosystems in the temperate zones of the world.

With your help we give the Sierra Club that extra bit of support they so rightly deserve.

It was our move from Scotland to BC almost 5 years ago that impacted on where we are today. It was  BC’s wilderness and beauty that inspired me to write about my Nature Warriors – “The Little Humbugs”.

ENGAGING CHILDREN

Engaging children with nature at an early age is crucial for their health and well being. Enormous benefits will come from creating a generation of children eager to help conserve our natural heritage.

In order for children to help look after our Natural World, they first need to experience it’s MAGIC………

THE LITTLE HUMBUGS – The Humbugs live their lives not dissimilar to how we all used to live, respecting and living in harmony with Mother Earth.

The Little Humbugs are based on an award winning book series that involves children on a quest to protect our Natural World.

Giving back for the future of our children and the planet.

As a mother of 3, I have always had two major concerns: children are spending far less time playing outdoors than ever before; the Natural Environment around us is constantly being plundered and despoiled. As a child, I reveled in the magic of Mother Nature. As a parent, I feel driven to protect it.

I want my children and the generations that follow to inherit the same privileges that I once enjoyed.

CONSERVATION

In order to preserve what is left of our Natural World, we need to conserve it.

25% of SALES GO BACK TO THE SIERRA CLUB

For every Little Humbugs purchase made by a BC Sierra Club member, we will donate 25% of the purchase to the Sierra Club BC.

We are a small family run business passionate about nature and the well being of the planet and want to give back. We felt The Sierra Club of BC, Canada would be a perfect partnership  – they work on issues ranging from climate change and energy to toxic chemical contamination and loss of biological diversity.

The Sierra Club - Grassroots defenders of Canada’s environment since 1963.

• Delivering Sierra Club BC’s award-winning Environmental Education Programs across BC to 7,000 students, fostering children’s appreciation and love of nature, and inspiring a new generation of environmental stewards:

• Protecting 5 million acres of the Great Bear Rainforest from logging and implanting lighter touch logging in the remainder of the this unique natural area, thus saving the home of the unique Kermode Spirit Bear; and

• Drawing international attention to the endangered Flathead River Valley in South Eastern BC – “One of the most diverse and ecologically intact natural ecosystems in the temperate zones of the world,”(National Geographic.) Thanks to Sierra Club BC, delegates from the United Nations World Heritage Commission visited the area in September to investigate potential destructive mining proposals in the Flathead.

• Sierra Club BC -  Celebrating 40 years of passionate commitment to protecting BC’s wild spaces & species.   Help us celebrate at our Sierra Club BC Foundation Annual Dinner on November 5th. Sierra Club BC Annual Dinner

To find out more about the Sierra Club, visit: http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/

The Little Humbug Products

The Little Humbugs were created to tell a compelling story on how we need to care for the environment and to live in harmony with the Natural World. Through engaging characters, the power of words and images and interactive play, our goal is to inspire and empower children to get outdoors, explore and create change.

The storybooks immerse the reader into the world of the Little Humbugs and reveals to the young child just how important it is to look after the natural world they inhabit and that they have an important role to play in caring for it too.

The storybook characters (dolls) encourage interactive play, helping to stimulate a child’s curiosity of the natural world around them, creating a bond and lasting affinity with their surrounding environment and natural world through the Little Humbugs.

Winner of the Canadian Toy Testing Council 3 Star Award (highest rated)

• Eco friendly Chapter books and Picture books
• Educational Dolls
• All Natural Lotions and Potions
• Fair Trade Felt Bead Kits
• Natural Gemstones
• All Natural Sleepover Kits

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