What did you see?
Aim:
To enjoy nature and to learn to identify different animals and insects.
You will need:
Somewhere to go on a walk in the countryside, a park or a wood.
Duration:
30 minutes to 1 hour
Take the group on a walk in a place with plenty of plants and wildlife. Explain that most creatures are frightened of people, so ask the children to walk really quietly and listen all the time. They should play close attention, to spot even the tiniest animals, birds and insects.
Tell them that when they spot something, instead of calling out 'Hey, look at this!' they must point and silently identify it using mime, and hand and body movements. They can make quiet noises like a buzz or a humming sound. If the others are not quick enough to see it or it moves away they can whisper what it was.
After the walk ask:
- How did you like the silence and whispering instead of making a lot of noise?
- Why are some animals afraid of humans?
- Do you think that noise disturbs wildlife (from traffic, factories, building work, airports, human voices)?
- How well do you think people live alongside nature? Can you think of ways in which humans live in harmony with nature and other ways in which humans spoil nature?
(Try to talk about examples close to home, and if possible some examples in other parts of the world.)