14 Nebraskaland • June 2023
IN THE FIELD
By Renae Blum
THREE OUTDOOR APPS
Wish your kids spent more time outdoors and less time in
front of a screen? It's a common concern. Rather than cutting
out electronics completely, a phone can be a great tool in
helping spark a child's curiosity and interest in the outdoors.
Give the three apps below a try. All are free, available on
both Google Play and the Apple App Store — and can enrich
your family's experience of the outdoors.
Merlin Bird ID
Kids can explore their curiosity about birds with this easy-
to-use app, which helps with bird identification. Wondering
what birds you're hearing? You can make a live sound
recording, and the app will suggest species in real-time. The
app can identify bird photos, too.
Don't have a photo or sound recording? There's also a Bird
ID Wizard which offers possibilities based on your answers
to simple questions. Check out the "Explore" section, too,
where you can browse a library of birds in your area, complete
with photos, sounds and maps.
Seek
Seek is another app that's great for identifying what you
see outside. Simply open the camera tool, snap a photo
of the plant or animal you see, and the app will make an
identification. You then have the option to read more about
the species and its range, similar species and the time of year
it appears. The more observations you make, the more badges
you'll earn. You also can participate in monthly challenges.
Seek was designed for kids ages 9 to 11 and does not
require registration or collect any user data by default. It's a
simpler version of the iNaturalist app and great for families
who want to explore the outdoors together.
Geocaching
This app is your gateway into a great outdoor family
activity — geocaching! Geocaching is a treasure hunt aided
by technology. The goal is to find caches, hidden containers
with a logbook and sometimes, small trinkets for trade,
which the app will help you discover. There are more than 3
million caches hidden worldwide, making opportunities for
geocaching fun nearly everywhere you go.
Geocaching can be a fun way to explore places in your
neighborhood you didn't know about, or to have some added
fun on a vacation. Geocaches come in a variety of sizes and
difficulty levels; for the best family experience, focus on
caches with a low difficulty level (this is easy to do with the
free version of the app, which limits you to easier caches).
Kids of all ages can have fun helping locate caches.
These are three must-have apps for the outdoor enthusiast. JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
