Treetop Mom's blog

There's a nifty interactive map of New York City's waterfront in, of all places, Conde Nast Traveler. Click on the cute icons to explore a variety of attractions and activities from water sports to picnic spots to movies.

There's a very good blog post over at Children and Nature Network on the benefits of trees in urban environments. I especially love this quote: "You might not think there is nature in your midst. I’ve noticed that, as a society, we perceive nature to be “out there” rather than here where we raise our families and run our businesses. We think of it as a place we have to “go to” for a getaway.

It's May and that means flowers—the 6th annual NYC Wildflower Week is here. This year, they're expanding their programming to all of NYC's nature, including salamanders, birds, and mushrooms along with our native wildflowers.
     
Events range from botanical walks and garden tours throughout the five boroughs to children's activities. See the full schedule of events here.

This year's City of Water Day will be held on Saturday, July 20th. We've had great fun at this event in past years.

Presented by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, this will be the sixth annual festival, a day of free entertainment, education, and activities that celebrates the potential of New York City's waterfront. The events will take place on Governors Island and in Liberty State Park.

The Prospect Park Audubon Center has some fun family activities to celebrate Earth Day this Sunday.

From 1-4 PM there will be presentations by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation on responsible fishing, discover tours, lakeshore clean-up, live bird and animal encounters, recycled instrument making, and a performance and parade by Bash the Trash.

If you have old outdoor gear that's still in usable condition, the Sierra Club is accepting donations through the end of this month. Through a partnership with eBay and the Sierra Club Foundation, the proceeds will support local Sierra Club Chapters.

I have a new New York wildlife article up on Examiner.com, about nesting birds. Enjoy!

Spring is here, even if we still have some chilly days and nights. It seems as if everything is blooming all of a sudden.

Forsythia, Tehama St., Kensington, Brooklyn.

We've planted the beginning of our summer vegetable garden.

Lettuces in our kitchen windowbox.

And soccer is back in full swing.

Gjoa vs. Brooklyn Juniors, 4/13/13.

I just realized that my Boy Scout brand sleeping bag (made by Coleman) is now 30 years old! My grandmother bought it for me when I graduated college and was living without furniture. It's in like-new condition, except that the elastic bands for keeping it rolled up have lost some of their spring. In fact, all but one (the newest) of our sleeping bags have held up really well. That one is only ten years old but the synthetic fill has gotten somewhat compacted.

These bags are, L-R: 30, 13, and about 17 years old!

Bright Horizons invited Brooklyn child- and parenting-related bloggers to tour their new facility on Kent Avenue in trendy Williamsburg. I attended and must say the place is very nice, and they make a real effort to feature natural materials, calm earth tones, room for gross motor play, and nature and science themed playthings.

The gym-like playroom features a kid-sized climbing wall in addition to a dance area and a variety of other items designed to encourage exercise.