Prepare a set of 10 coloured sticks for each team. Use a
different colour for each set of sticks. A simple way to do this is
to colour popsicle sticks with felt markers or crayons.
Select a theme for the nature trails that complements other
planned activities. Possibilities include: animal signs,
sensory experiences, plants, litter or a letter of the
alphabet.
Make the Trails
Divide your group into teams.
Give each team a set of coloured sticks and tell them the
theme.
Explain the activity. Each team
Puts one stick in the ground to be the start of their nature
trail.
Looks for something related to the trail theme and marks that
second stop with another stick.
Continues finding interesting things and marking the location
until all the sticks have been used.
Puts the next stick no more than ten "giant steps" from
the previous stop.
Leans each in the direction of the next one.
Point out the boundaries for the activity.
Ask the teams to make their nature trails and return to their
start stick when finished.
Explore the Trails
Have neighbouring teams trade and try to follow each other's
trails.
One person from the team that set the trail should stay to
help, if necessary.
The new team finds and collects each stick when it is located.
They could record the "exhibit" found at each stick.
When everyone is finished, gather the teams together.
Discuss the "exhibits" on each trail.
Deadfall Activity
Goals of Activity
To encourage exploring and discovering.
To show how a seemingly harmless action by humans can have a
negative effect on the health of an ecosystem.
Activity
Explain the importance of deadfall - branches, bark pieces and
fallen logs lying on the ground.
Deadfall provides food and shelter to many small organisms,
such as millipedes and beetles.
These, in turn, are important sources of food for larger
organisms such as shrews and woodpeckers.
The soft wood also provides ideal growing conditions for moss,
lichens and tree seedlings.
As the dead wood decomposes, it becomes part of the soil.
It adds valuable nutrients which plants need to grow.
Have the youth work in small groups to find organisms.
Advise the youth to put deadfall back if they lift it up to
look underneath. Ask them to explain why this is important.
