Ecologist

The Woodcraft Folk

• To understand food chains and how living things interact with each

other.

• To understand the impact of humans on the environment.

• To understand the meaning of environment, pollution, climate.

• To understand the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, recycle – and recognise

the Recycling symbol.

Learning Objectives

The Ecologist badge is to get Elfins to learn about how different parts of

the environment interact with each other. It introduces ideas and concepts

from 'what is the environment?' to food chains and pollution. It also looks

at the impacts that we as humans can have, both positive and negative,

and encourages Elfins to think about the part they can play.

Forword

1) Be able to draw a simple food chain.

2) Be able to recognise the recycling symbol, and understand the 3Rs.

3) To recycle something.

4) To do something to help the environment, e.g. help with recycling at

home (link to I Begin) or a litter pick.

Tests

Activities• What is a food chain?

Food chains are an easy way for Elfins to see how different part of

nature interact with each other. You can use the food­web game at

the end of this resource pack, developed by our very own Cudham

Environmental Activity Centre.

• Circle discussion:

Holding a short discussion in a circle can be an easy way to

introduce some of the basic ideas and terminology to Elfins. Most

will have some idea about some of these things so just ask them

simple questions, and then help them to reach the right answers,

such as: What is an environment? What is pollution? (e.g. litter, air

pollution, water pollution, soil pollution). How do these affect the

environment? What is climate? How is climate affected by humans?

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:

You can start off by playing 'Rats, Rabbits, Rice', but by substituting

the original words with 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'. Split the group in

two, one team is 'Reduce', the other is 'Reuse'. Line them up opposite

each other. Explain that when you call their team's name they must

chase the other group, who must try to reach their end of the room

without being caught. Anyone caught swaps sides. If you call 'Recycle'

then no one should move, anyone who does swaps sides. You can

then get the Elfins to discuss what these words mean and colour in the

recycling symbol and illustrate it woth pictures of different things being

reused or recycled. (There's a blank recycling symbol at the end of this

resource pack). You could also bring in some recycling from home and

show the different symbols that are used for different materials.

Activities• Recycling activities:

There are lots of fun craft projects that can be done using recycled

materials. For example piggy banks made from cocoa tins, tea­light

holders from jam jars (which can count towards I Craft too), or

instruments (which can count towards I Sing and Dance as well).

Piggy banks can be made by decorating the tins and cutting a

simple slot in the top for the coins to go in. Jam jars can be painted

with poster paint and a tea­light placed inside. If you don't want the

paint to rub/wash off you'll need to used a fixing spray, or use oil­

based paints ­ but these will stain clothes! Ideas for making

instruments are listed in the I Sing and Dance resource pack.

You can also make games out of recycled materials. An easy one to

play is Recycled Hockey. Get the Elfins to take a whole newspaper

each and roll it up tightly, then apply a few pieces of tape to hold it in

place. Then take a drinks can and crush it, make 2 goals and divide

the Elfins in to 2 teams, and you're ready to play hockey!

• Compost bin visit:

You could take the Elfins to an allotment or someone's garden to

see a compost heap. Explain to the Elfins how it works ­ waste goes

in, worms digest the waste and leave compost, and the compost is

then used to help plants grow. You could even sing the worm song

at the end!

Activities• Helping the environment:

There are lots of different ways for Elfins to help the environment.

You could ask them all to help with the recycling at home (link to I

Begin).

Or you could organise a litter pick of the school/hall where you

meet, or even your local park. If doing a litter pick remember Elfins

will need to equipped with gloves and you should warn them not to

pick up dangerous things, e.g. dog mess, or sharp objects like

broken glass or needles. Make sure you have done a thorough risk

assessment, and that you have enough adults to supervise them

appropriately, and also have a quick look yourself before letting the

Elfins begin.

You could also do something to help the environment by making

wildflower seed balls. There are lots of recipes for these on the web

­ many called 'seed bombs'. You could make the seed balls one

week ­ it's very messy so good to do outside if you can ­ and ask

the children to bring egg boxes the following week. Then use the

egg boxes to safely carry the seed balls on a walk and throw them

onto rough ground which could do with livening up!

Resources

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ResourcesUniversal Recycling Symbol

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