Episode Details

371: Turning Summer Walks Into Learning Experiences

In this episode, Meryl shares how educational summer walks can become meaningful learning experiences for homeschoolers using simple apps and technology tools.

1. Identify Birds with Merlin Bird ID

Meryl discusses using Merlin Bird ID from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to identify birds while walking. The app can identify birds both by appearance and by sound.

Topics discussed:

• Identifying birds from photos
• Recording and identifying bird calls in real time
• How AI improves bird sound recognition
• Contributing recordings to help improve identification accuracy

2. Identify Nature and Participate in Citizen Science

Quick Identification

• Google Lens for identifying plants, insects, bushes, and objects directly from a phone camera

Citizen Science for Younger Children

• Seek by iNaturalist
• Kid-friendly quests and badges
• Easy identification of plants, fungi, insects, and animals

Citizen Science for Older Students

• iNaturalist
• Community-focused biodiversity tracking
• Recording observations in different environments
• Learning ecology, habitats, and biomes through real-world exploration