Set a goal and get outside!
School, work and busy schedules can make it hard to find time for nature. The Vitamin N Challenge can help – connecting you to ideas, inspiration and a community of people who are committed to spending quality time outdoors with the kids they care about. And, setting and committing to a goal will help you get more Vitamin N, whether you are working toward a day, a week, or months of more time outdoors.
The challenge was inspired by our co-founder Richard Louv’s book, “Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life.” In it, you’ll find 500 fun, practical ideas that will help you design a challenge that fits your lifestyle and schedule – or you can share your own ideas to inspire others. We run a big Vitamin N Challenge every summer (mark your calendar), but any time is a great time to make outdoor memories that will last a lifetime.
Vitamin N Challenge – Winter Edition
Want more nature for you and your family in the new year but don’t know what to wear or where to start? We’ve got you! The Vitamin N Challenge — Winter Edition officially starts January 13, 2026 and runs through February 16. Subscribe to our Families Together in Nature newsletter to receive weekly topics and tips for the duration of the challenge. Can’t wait? Check out the overview, resources and ideas below and get going today! Nature during the winter months has so much to offer. And, setting and committing to a short-term goal now will help you and your family form good nature habits and get more Vitamin N all year long.
How to take the Vitamin N Challenge:
1. Choose Your Challenge
Vitamin N Challenges come in all shapes and sizes. Yours may be a single outing or experience. It may be a lifestyle change over the course of a week or a month. Maybe your challenge means designating one day each week during the next two months as family nature days, planned and organized with your kids. Or perhaps you’d like to spend 30 minutes each day, for 30 days, participating in an outdoor activity. You could even lead your community in a habitat restoration project. Whatever you choose, get the children in your life involved in planning the challenge — and like other vitamins, don’t skip your Vitamin N!
For an extra dose of inspiration, subscribe to our Families Together in Nature newsletter, where we share nature connection tips and ideas during the Vitamin N Challenge, as well as through the rest of the year.
2. Make A Plan
Take the Vitamin N Challenge Pledge, designate Vitamin N time on your calendar, print out a Challenge Tracker (see Resources below), and collect any materials you may need (snacks and water bottles are always recommended!) Talk about the challenge with your family, get excited – and have fun!
3. Share Your Experience
Tell us about your Vitamin N Challenge. How did you get your dose of Vitamin N? What worked and what didn’t? How has your family or your life changed as a result of the challenge?
There are many ways to be part of the Vitamin N community:
- SHARE your tips, photos and videos on Instagram. Use the hashtag #VitaminNChallenge and tag us @children_naturenetwork
- WRITE a short summary (750 words or less) about your challenge, include at least one awesome photo, and email it to us at info@childrenandnature.org.
- JOIN The Trailhead, our free online community to let us know how your challenge is going – and to cheer on fellow Vitamin N Challenge takers!
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These families took the Vitamin N Challenge — here’s what they learned
Finding Nature News feature
We partnered with families who took the Vitamin N Challenge and shared their experiences online — here’s what they learned.
Watch this recorded event with author and Children & Nature Network co-founder Richard Louv. Richard discusses what he learned about creating a nature-filled life while writing his books and offers tips and inspiration for completing your own #VitaminNChallenge.
Looking for tips and inspiration? Here are some Vitamin N Challenge stories from our children and nature community, including participants on Instagram.
Watch a recording of award-winning artist, author, educator and scientist, John Muir Laws as he shares his best tips and tricks for nature journaling learned through his 40 years of teaching and illustrating. This class is geared towards children ages 8+, parents, caregivers, educators and anyone looking to pass this knowledge onto others.
Nature Activity Cards
Activity guides for children ages 2 to 11
These Nature Activity Cards are a great way to get started having fun in nature with family and friends. Each set of cards has a suggested age group (2-6 years old or 7-11 years old) and a theme, such as urban animals, clouds, crafts, reptiles and frogs. Inside each set, you’ll find activities that incorporate play, acting, drawing, stewardship and more. You can view the cards online, or download and print out for fun on the go.
Need some inspiration for the Vitamin N Challenge? Watch this recorded conversation from 2022 with author and Children & Nature Network co-founder Richard Louv.
Book excerpt: Richard Louv's "Vitamin N"
Check out seven pages of helpful tips for getting outside.
Challenge Pledge
Set a goal, sign the pledge and get outside!
Coloring Trackers
Break out your color pencils and track your challenge!
Journaling Trackers
Capture your favorite challenge moments with these journal trackers.
Coloring Pledge Sheets
Set a goal, sign the pledge, color it and get outside!
In the launch email for the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we share how to participate by choosing your challenge, making a plan and sharing your experience. We also share our Nature Adventure Activity Cards with 48 ideas for fun, simple nature activities that don't require fancy supplies or tons of planning.
Birding is a fun, low-impact outdoor activity that adults and kids can share together. It doesn’t require a lot of equipment, and you don’t need to be an expert. If poor air quality or health conditions are present, you don’t even need to do it outside! It is a great activity for the Vitamin N Challenge. In the second email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we share birding resources and inspiration to get you started.
It’s never too soon to introduce children to the outdoors. Nature provides important benefits to babies — and their parents. In our third email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we share a few guides for parents of babies, toddlers and preschool kids.
Feeling like a shining sun, or a crashing wave? Engaging with nature not only promotes the social and emotional well-being of children, but nature itself can help children — and their grown-ups — notice, name and navigate big feelings. In the fourth email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we share a guide to emotions that is grounded in nature.
Butterflies and beetles and bats — oh my! Pollinators, including moths, beetles, hummingbirds and others, are an important part of nature. Learn how to protect pollinators — and how to grow the next generation of nature champions — in the fifth email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge.
Nature journaling offers numerous benefits, including enhanced observational skills, improved mental and emotional well-being, and a deeper connection to the natural world. The sixth email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge shares resources and inspiration to get you and your little ones started with a nature journaling practice.
In the seventh email for the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we discuss why native plants matter and how children and their families can be a pal to native plants.
Strengthen your child’s connection to nature and literacy by reading outside. For the eighth email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we encourage parents and caregivers to ditch the living room and discover the magic of reading outdoors. We also share a reading list of books that teach children about nature and climate (both nonfiction and fiction!).
Self-care offers numerous benefits for mental well-being, including reduced stress and anxiety, improved mood, enhanced self-esteem and increased resilience. Coincidentally, so does spending time in nature! In the ninth email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge, we share how to take your self-care session outside and maximize the benefits of both.
The tenth and final email from the 2025 Vitamin N Challenge contains a personal letter from Kristy Omelianuk, Children & Nature Network staff and manager of the Challenge. She offers her reflections on her own challenge and her ideas for how to carry the Vitamin N spirit into the rest of the year.
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