Aside from being fun for kids and parents, Xplor addresses child advocates' concern about children's growing alienation from nature. If you've followed my blogs over the last year, you're familiar with author Richard Louv's description of the phenomenon as "nature deficit disorder" from his book, Last Child in the Woods. Xplor is the newest way the MDC is attacking "nature deficit disorder".

But the quality of information I've found on the Xplor website have been so good, I've started going there first when I need a nature resource.

For example, I've been diligently keeping an eye on my bird feeders through the recent snows, but to no use. Last winter there were several repeat visitors to my feeder, but this year I noticed the food was disappearing even though I wasn't seeing any birds.

My neighbor clued me in yesterday when she let me know she'd been watching the neighborhood squirrels climb up my shepherd's hook to the feeder and get their fill during the day. If you've experienced this as well, you might want to make a bleach bottle bird feeder, which is featured in a video with full assembly instructions on the Xplor website. Though not squirrel proof, they're more resistant than other traditional bird feeders, and they're easily replaced if the squirrels eventually figure them out.

After watching the thirty second bleach bottle bird feeder video, you can take the opportunity to click through Xplor, which truly is the MDC's coolest tool for reconnecting children with nature.

This video link on the bleach bottle feeder is a great example of how Xplor shows kids how nature artists and photographers capture their images and how people with wild jobs have fun conserving wildlife. I was personally thrilled to find the bleach bottle bird feeder idea because I love the idea of recycling an old plastic bottle into a bird feeder that will ward off those pesky squirrels. It's a three-in-one project that I can enjoy with my child.

Xplor Magazine is published six times a year and is free, one per each Missouri household. If you have more than one child, you can include each child's name in the address line. Go to the Xplor home page to subscribe.