5 Great Earth Day iPhone Apps

Wednesday, 4/21/2010

What’s one way to help protect the Earth for future generations? Instill a love of nature and the environment in our children.

The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is here. In addition to the celebration ideas on the EPA, Repower America and Earth Day websites, we suggest you create a year-long resolution to get outside with your children. If the next generation can appreciate nature and our human impact upon it, they can become powerful agents for change and conservation.

Spring has arrived in most parts of the country, and it’s the perfect time to explore all the new life that is blossoming all around. The iPhone apps below will help make time outdoors educational and fun.

1. Accuterra

Free

This award-winning free app is a must-have. Traditional GPS can certainly get you to the trail, but how do you find your way once you’re off the pavement? Accuterra solves this problem with high-res 3D maps of forests and state and national parks. These maps even work outside of wireless networks, so are perfect for the trail.

2. Panorama

$9.99

This app, while a bit pricey, allows you to take beautiful 360 degree pictures. Advanced technology actually stitches multiple pictures together to create breathtaking panoramic images. Kids will love taking pictures, and watching the app create the 360 view. The unique photo makes a great keepsake, and helps illustrate the nature mantra: “take only memories and leave only footprints.”

3. Scats & Tracks of North America

$6.99

Perfect for curious little boys and girls, this app acts as a personal pocket field guide. Featuring an organized database of scats, tracks, gait patterns, and other signs of an animal’s presence, use the app while hiking to determine what animals may be in the area. Each animal features a concise yet detailed description with links to the real-life images and videos from Google and Flickr.

4. iBird Explorer Backyard

$4.99

Similar to Scats & Tracks, this app helps you identify the birds in your own backyard. With color photos, audio recordings of the bird’s song and species information, this app will create young birders, just dying to seek out new species.

5. GeoCaching

$9.99

This app is a great tool for any family interested in an adventure. Geocaching is a worldwide treasure hunt game, where people with GPS devices hunt outdoors for special manmade containers, called geocaches. This app helps you locate geocaches in your area, and share your experiences with other treasure hunters. It’s a fun way to turn a nature hike into a family adventure.

Posted by » walden
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Category » Education,Family,