Spring Break 2010 – Family Trails for Spring Fun

I have no idea how it’s possible that Spring Break is already here. But, hey, now that the kids have a week off and we have to find ways to keep them in motion without tackling each other, we might as well all get on the bus together. In the next seven days or so, [...]

Horne Lake Caves

Crystal clear water and Vancouver Island’s coolest outdoor adventures makes Horne Lake an outdoor-lovers dream. Two parks offer a wide range of activities for all ages and abilities including camping, canoeing, rock climbing and cave tours.

Winter 2010 NeighbourWood Walks Registration

Editor’s note: This morning’s post on making felt fortune cookies to celebrate the combo of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day (both Feb. 14 this year) was so much fun. You can check it out HERE. Now, it’s time to finally get back outside as we get down to the business of registering for our [...]

Year In Review – Favorite Family Nature Locales for 2009

Oh my goodness 2009 has been a fantastic year for weather, exploring and general outdoor adventures. The Comox Valley and Vancouver Island are absolute perfection when it comes to hanging in the outdoors and making family time nature time.
We’ve explored a lot of cool places, taken more than 150 kids and their parents on hikes [...]

Sunday Morning Walks – Finding Swans

The truest sign of Winter’s onset for our family is the return of the Trumpeter Swans. Right after Halloween we move from salmon and skeletons to full-on ornithologists looking for our friends headed South from Alaska for their balmy vacation from the Northern cold.
They’ve become like the neighbors who only live in town half the [...]

10 Walks To Beat the November Blues

Good morning. As the darkness of Fall sets in, so does my urge to lay on the couch and moan. Obviously, this is not a solid use of time to pursue on a daily basis. So, one of the things that we, as a family, focus on with the onset of the rainy season is [...]

NeighbourWood Walking at the Courtenay Air Park

Happy Friday afternoon. Hopefully you all are just about done with your weeks and ready to enjoy a fun Fall weekend. We’ve got lots going on including the Cumberland Harvest Fair where we’ll be making binoculars and other coolness from 10 a.m. to Noon tomorrow.
If you missed our morning post today, Deepa took a peek [...]

Fall NeighbourWood Walk Photos

Good afternoon and welcome to our first day in which you get a morning and an afternoon post. Yep, that’s right, OBE has now nearly doubled our content and we will be bringing you some exciting new features as we begin to even more frequently update the website.
If you haven’t checked out Kendra’s sweet post [...]

Sunday Morning Walks – Miracle Beach Forest Trail

Whenever I say to folks that we are headed out to Miracle Beach, there’s a bit of an assumption that the beach will actually be involved.
I have to admit that, much of the time, I forget that this fantastic provincial park extends back into the forest as well as out to the shore. But, when [...]

Sunday Morning Walk – Willow Creek Conservation Area

Good Morning. I have to admit that it feels terribly strange to have no editor’s notes, calendars to keep up with or some place to be. Slow is not my normal pace. I’ll have to get used to it because Ken and I have promised that August – mostly – will be the month of [...]

Nature Journal – The Edible Forest

Editor’s Note: Today, join us out at Tannadice Farms, 3465 Burns Road (just off of Condensory Road), for a great farm tour as part of the the Know Where Your Food Comes From Tour and the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Challenge. Heather and Allan will be on hand from 1 to 2:30 p.m. taking [...]

Sunday Morning Walks – Quinsam River

Good morning. It’s another gorgeous island Sunday, which seems like the perfect time to recommend a walk in the woods.
Beachy sunshine is so fantastic. But, when the temps start pushing the high 20s, I start thinking about heading toward the cool shade of the forest.
That’s exactly what we did yesterday, checking out the Quinsam River [...]

Spring NeighbourWood Walks Registration…x2

I am so excited to say that the Our Big Earth NeighbourWood Walks program is officially one year old. We’ve completed four seasons of walking in the woods, on the trails and at the shoreline, exploring nature kid-style. (By the way, this is double-post Tuesday. I’ll have some crafts for you this afternoon)
And, with that [...]

Family Fitness – Safety Keeps You Fit on the Trails

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today we’re hanging out with Equilibrium Lifestyle Management owner Sarah Seads as she gets us geared up for long Spring days out on the trails or at the beach.

After this crazy Winter, I know I’m totally excited to get back out there and spend some quality time working out and [...]

Sunday Morning Walk – Time to Tide Pool

The starfish are calling. I’m totally serious, they’re wondering where all of the humans are. They’ve finally come up for some air after a long, chilly Winter under water.
So, it must be time for us to dig out the wellies and head for the waves…or at least the low tide line.
This is the time of [...]

Winter NeighbourWood Walks Registration

Good Morning.
If you all are anything like us, this crazy Winter of snow, snow and more snow followed up by freezing, fog and more fog has left us a bit less active outside than usual.
I always need a bit of group motivation to get me outside when the weather looks much more suited for a [...]

Sunday Morning Walk – Courtenay Riverway

Good Morning. Hopefully, the strange fog that’s been dominating our days is headed in a different direction as we look forwarded to a bit of sunshine. But, in the mean time, checking out the cool effects of light and clouds – all while getting a front-row seat to hang out with some of the most [...]

Nature Journal – Family Listening Walks

Good morning. Between sickness (mostly mine), insane amounts of snow and the general hibernation-like blah blahs this Winter, it’s been a tough sell to get us out the door every day and into the fresh air lately.
It’s not that we don’t want to (in fact, we all well know how squirrely each of us gets [...]

Top 10 Valley Nature Spots for 2008

We did a heck of a lot of discovering of new outdoor spaces last year – friends clued us in to not-so-secret spots that we’d just never gotten the scoop on before and we made our way out to some cool locales that became serious favourites.
The tiny person and I clued in to the [...]

Movie Adventures & Family Flick Favourites

I am more than a bit under the weather today, reluctantly submitting to at least a few days of bed rest as while the tiny person in my belly seems to be A-OK, my body is struggling a bit through this part of pregnancy.
Being mostly couch bound is not really my speed. But, when the [...]

Snow Sled Walks in the Comox Valley

Every day, it’s the same question: “Mommy, when is it going to snow? Santa won’t come if it never snows.”
While I’m sure kids in warmer climates would definitely debate the merits of her theory, our daughter could not help but find herself bundled up and ready to hit the hills the last couple of days [...]

Nature Journal – Winter Bird Feeding Walks

I saw the light in her face the first time our daughter and a chickadee made eye contact – and it was pure magic.
We’d walked the Lazo Marsh loop what seemed like a thousand times before then – through a Summer of sunshine and a mild Fall. But, the birds hadn’t made their debut until [...]

Announcing The Fall NeighbourWood Walks

Good morning.
I am happy to say that after a couple months of NeighbourWood Walk withdrawl since our fantastic Summer series that saw 60 kiddos and their families out for walks all over the region, the Fall walk series is nearly here.
September is always a nutso month for families, and October has been a bit of [...]

Thanksgiving Family Walks in the Comox Valley

We realized yesterday, at the point when we were still debating what will be on the table at Thanksgiving dinner – including a yet-to-be-purchased(oops) main dish – that we are a bit overworked right now.
We’ve debated the merits of breaking for a few minutes to go remember what the beach looks like or stretch our [...]

It’s Raining – Time to Head Outside

Editor’s Note: OF COURSE the sun is back out today. Ha, ha Mother Nature.
But, do save this post for later reference. The sun is bound to disappear again, soon.:)

Mother Nature, she’s not exactly the subtle type.
No easing us into Fall, giving us a few clouds here and there before commencing with the deluge.
My mental space [...]

Seal Bay Nature Park Beach Trail

There are a few special spots in our collection of adventures that spark imagination and make the tiny person buzz uncontrollably at the mere mention of a potential day spent.

Seal Bay Nature Park and its winding, lush, bit of a butt-kicker wander down the Main Beach (Don Apps) Trail to one of the most beautiful [...]

Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 6 – Lazo Marsh

Good morning!
We had nearly a full crew (52 kiddos) for the NeighbourWood Walk out at the Lazo Marsh yesterday and wow was I ever impressed at the ingenuity and sense of teamwork this group of tiny people have developed with each other.
But, before I gush, some cool breaking news.
Our long-term NeighbourWood Walks partner Active Comox [...]

Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 5 – Seal Bay Beach Trail

Good Morning!
Well, the hiking gods conspired against our trip out to Cumberland this week as, while the family and I were out on our test run of the trail out at Cumberland Community Forest last Saturday we ran into a few unfriendly bits of poison foliage and bugs that, while they shouldn’t discourage you from [...]

Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 4 – Fanny Bay

Note to self: wine with the girlfriends after a long day on the trail is excellent fun at 9 p.m., not so excellent fun at 6 a.m.:)

A small group of super intrepid walkers made it out to our fourth NeighbourWood Walk yesterday, which took us to the far south end of the Valley and a [...]

Paradise Meadows

With the wet, cold, L-O-N-G Winters we’ve had the last couple of years, we can only hope that Summer lingers a bit longer than usual.
Personally, I hope the sunshine puts in some overtime this year so we can spend some long days wandering the forest of Strathcona Provincial Park taking in the absolute magic that [...]

Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 1 – MacDonald Wood

It’s about 8:45 a.m. as I sit down to write this post.
As a general rule, I write the night before. Mornings are nuts around here and throwing blogging into that mix is generally a stress of the unnecessary kind. But, today, it’s entirely beautiful.
That’s totally because I got out of bed about five minutes ago [...]

Announcing the Summer NeighbourWood Walk Series

It’s with some serious excitement that I announce our Summer NeighbourWood Walk series.
After such a fantastic response to our first series and some disappointment about our time choice, we knew we were going to have to plan for two walks this Summer.
So, here’s the scoop.
Our NeighbourWood Walk series will run for eight Wednesdays this Summer [...]

Final Spring NeighbourWood Walk – The Filberg

I am shocked at how little time six weeks actually is.
Blink.
From our first meeting out at MacDonald Wood Nature Park to the last moments of exploration and hanging out yesterday at The Filberg, CVK’s Spring NeighbourWood Walk series seemed to just fly by.
I suspect that’s because we were so busy having fun, making friends and [...]

Spring NeighbourWood Walks – Seal Bay

It’s official.
Mother Nature loves us.
Once again, the skies parted momentarily yesterday – long enough for the fifth in our Spring community walk series to be all sunshine and good times at Seal Bay Nature Park’s Swamp Loop.
This is a longish trail, made double long by the fact that there were creatures EVERYWHERE requiring a stop [...]

A Home Museum with Shadow Boxes

Zoology, Botany and Forestry aren’t exactly in the vocabulary of the under-5 set.
Yet, every time we hit the beach, the garden or the trail, science is following us around.
Each pine cone or shell tucked in a tiny pocket reveals something significant about a place we’ve explored. (Yes, OK, I am total science nerd.)
And I’m pretty [...]

Union Bay’s Coal Hills & Flower Chains

There are some places that need to be seen in the name of historical reference.
You may not be catching said locale in its heyday. But, the remnants of a past long gone are amazing clues to recreating the scene for yourself.
The Coal Hills in Union Bay is one of those places.
Ken is my reference, as [...]

Spring NeighbourWood Walks – Puntledge Greenway

When I woke up yesterday morning to drizzle and chill, I seriously wondered whether we’d hit the trail for our weekly community walk.
Happily, I trusted the weather predictors (dangerous territory) and it turns out that while they were totally wrong about bright sunny skies this morning (where’s my 26 degrees I dreamed about all night?), [...]

Our Very First NeighbourWood Walk

We couldn’t have asked for a more awesome day to kick off the Spring series of NeighbourWood Walks over at MacDonald Wood Nature Park yesterday.
The sunshine and low tide meant this fun walk through the forest turned into a great afternoon checking out crabs and snails and logging serious splashing in with some new friends.
You [...]

Kin Beach & Bird Badges

On those sunny days when the wind is warm and a day digging in the sand is in order, starting your morning out at Kin Beach Provincial Park is the way to go.
This tucked away spot, just down the hill off of Kilmarnack Road in Comox, is the perfect combination of quaint picnic/cookout locale, beach [...]

Join Us for our NeighbourWood Walks

Want to go for a walk?
With the weather warming, little feet in need of a good run and an itch to explore the region together, we are excited to invite you to join us for NeighbourWood Walks – a series of weekly community walks at spots around the Valley where you can explore the trails, [...]

Seal Bay Swamp Loop & Boot Plants

When you wake up early, the kiddos are going stir crazy and you just need to get out of the house on a Sunday morning, there are walks that make all of that chaos fade away.
Taking the winding drive out to Seal Bay Nature Park is relaxing all on its own – with its fields [...]

Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens & Pressed Flowers

Let me just start by sending out a big, warm hug to all of the wonderful folks who braved the cold to hit the Today Party yesterday! More than 200 kiddos dropped by to decorate cupcakes, colour like crazy and meet some friends over at Karen’s studio.
I loved it – getting to meet so many [...]

The Northeast Woods & Hand Trees

This is the second in our 4-part series of Spring walks that include insider details and activities to pair with some of our favourite trails around the region
Check back in every Sunday in April for a new walk and some fun tips to get the family outside enjoying the season together.

Wow, it’s gorgeous outside, [...]

MacDonald Wood and Magic Wands

This is the first in our 4-part series of Spring walks that include insider details and activities to pair with some of our favourite trails around the region. Check back in every Sunday in April for a new walk and some fun tips to get the family outside enjoying the season together.

We first discovered MacDonald [...]

Surf & Turf, Comox Valley Style

Of course right about the time I am back to full steam after a super busy weekend what happens? The rain kicks in. I could complain, but am entirely grateful that – for the most part – the rain skipped all of the fun events over the last few days.

We haven’t done a comment challenge [...]

Spots to Watch Spring Migration

Today’s comment challenge: Where are some of your favourite wildlife watching spots on Vancouver Island and other places around the world?
Did you check out the great thread about food and your family yesterday? Thanks to everyone who jumped in. And the winner of a cool dino puzzle is…Stacey. Wahoo. Boynton books up for grabs today.

There [...]

Sandwick Park

CVK dad Derek Kwan has dropped by today to give us the skinny on a cool, lesser-known park in the Valley and I just have to say how excited I am to have a dad’s perspective in the mix here.
I’m not going to blab on too much today.

I needed a plane to help me [...]

Courtenay Parks

Lots of parents have been asking me lately for comprehensive lists of local parks with equipment.
Today, I’ll start with the Courtenay City-owned parks. There are several city-maintained nature parks including Lerwick, Millard, Dogwood, Bear James and Huford Hill that are not included here because they offer no park amenities.

* Bill Moore Park: Kilpatrick Avenue and [...]

10 Ways to Enjoy a Rainy Day, Outside in the Comox Valley

Lately my commitment to getting the tiny person outside for at least an hour a day has gone the way of the dodo. I’d blame it on the holidays or the mad rush of company that invaded our house the last few weeks. But, since the holidays were actually pretty chill, and we had no [...]

Family-Friendly Trails in the Comox Valley

Finding the safe, accessible and fun family trails on the North Island is no small task.
With plenty of trails to choose from, it’s the details on what works and what doesn’t that are often missing. Check here for a list of family-friendly trails around the Comox Valley and Campbell River regions.
SAFETY NOTE: Bears, cougars [...]

Nine Fall Comox Valley Family Walks (Rain or Shine)

This may seem like a silly topic on such a GEEEEEEEOOOOOOOORRRRRRGeous day.
But, I’ve had a whack of requests lately to pull together a single list of family-friendly walks that are do-able in all sorts of weather.
So, here it is.
9. The Courtenay Riverwalk including the Courtenay Estuary Loop: This is by far one of the most [...]

Lake Helen McKenzie Loop

My husband and I have declared Saturdays around our house the official day of the hiking boots.
Once a week we break from all of our regular around-town and beach action, fill up the backpacks and hit the trails up in Strathcona Provincial Park to suck up the mountain air, enjoy the quiet and take in [...]

Miracle Beach Provincial Park

There’s a reason this beach got its name.
If you drive up and down the east coast of Vancouver Island, a beach of this ilk is hard to find.
From the facilities right down to the seemingly endless stretch of barefoot-loving sand, Miracle Beach Provincial Park lives up to its moniker.
Right off the Old Island Highway, in [...]

Kitty Coleman Provincial Park

When my daughter and I headed out this morning, I thought for sure I’d come back with a beach review to share.
I’d heard that Kitty Coleman Provincial Park was full of great beach action, excellent views and is just a really great place for families. And, while the last two are definitely true, we were [...]

Pt. Holmes Beach

On a long day, when nerves are frayed and adventures have gone less than well, a long drive along Lazo Road has saved us all from a severe case of the grumpies.
Right at the tip where it and Knight Road meet up, we pull along side the road, roll down the windows and let the [...]

Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens

After a very long, busy and people-filled week, quiet had the most appeal today.
We were in serious need of something that involved mom, daughter and nature – and we found it most definitely this afternoon out at Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens.
I had long thought about turning off the Old Island Highway onto Coleman Road [...]

One-Spot Trail

To know the history of the Comox Valley you must know the life of a logger.
No other industry has had such a dynamic impact on the growth and prosperity of this region (mining and fishing aside) than the lumber industry.
Now families can fill up the backpack, bust out the hiking boots and hit the trail [...]

Beaver Lodge Forest Lands

Well, the constant rain sure doesn’t inspire one to trade the family car for public transportation as a part of Commuter Challenge Day today. But, don’t let the weather put the Comox Valley off the map in the nation-wide challenge in which communities see who can get the most people onto public transportation for the [...]

Safety First – Cougar and Bear Safety

Well, it took me a bit longer than expected, but today we’re finally getting to the good stuff in terms of keeping your family safe while you are out enjoying the incredible wild of Vancouver Island.
Senior Conservation Officer Dan Dwyer gave us a call over here at CVK yesterday to talk shop about cougar and [...]

Simms Millenium Park

There are those days when getting outside in the next 10 minutes is absolutely necessary. But, so is a swing set, some major open grass and a chance to check out some serious water.
When all of those things simply must be accounted for per the request of tiny people, I pack up the truck and [...]

Local, Regional and Provincial Park on North Vancouver Island

North Vancouver Island is packed full of family-friendly parks that can turn the gloomiest of days into a full-fledged adventure.
We’re working on gathering comprehensive lists of local parks for you.
LOCAL PARKS THAT WE LOVE:
The Filberg Heritage Lodge & Park: In Comox just off of Comox Avenue. The Filberg is a family fave – filled with [...]