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Here is a list of suggested activities. It is recommended that the girls participate in the
following number of activities to complete the patch: Daisy-5; Brownie-6; Junior-7;
Cadette/Senior-8. |
| 1. |
Make up a "tree bingo" game or use Tree Safari on page 23 of
Exploring Wildlife Communities With Children. Then take a hike. |
| 2. |
Adopt a tree. Pick one outside your meeting place. Clear away any litter
and loosen the soil in the tree pit to allow water to reach the roots. Draw a picture of
your tree in each season. |
| 3. |
Learn how to classify leaves to identify the different kinds of trees. Use
an identification field guide to help you name at least 8 species that grow in your area. |
| 4. |
Learn how to measure the height of trees. See page 244 of Guide for Junior Leaders. |
| 5. |
How do trees reduce air pollution and cleanse the air? What is photosynthesis? |
| 6. |
Learn how Native Americans incorporate trees and nature in their culture and religion. |
| 7. |
Learn how your local Parks and Recreation Department maintains and replaces
the trees in your community. |
| 8. |
Learn how trees can help in energy conservation in your home. |
| 9. |
Trees are a very valuable resource. List at least 5 ways that trees affect your life and make it better. |
| 10. |
Learn how to make your own paper. |
| 11. |
How do trees help wildlife? Hike through your local park, neighborhood or
camp and make a list of all the "inhabitants". |
| 12. |
What is Arbor Day? Find out what the National
Arbor Day Foundation does. Plant a tree that is "native" to your area. |
| 13. |
Germinate your own trees from seeds. Plant your tree and watch it grow.
Make sure your species is a native of your local area. |
| 14. |
What is the state tree and where does it grow? Can you find an example nearby? |
| 15. |
Learn about the different parts of the tree. Can you compare them to parts
of the human body? Can you compare the different stages of life between a tree and a human? |
| 16. |
Make up an activity to do with younger girls to teach them the value of trees. |
| 17. |
Draw a landscape which depicts the beauty trees add to our world. Use any
medium you enjoy and display your work for others to appreciate. |
| 18. |
Learn how landscapers use trees to beautify a home environment. |
| 19. |
Find out who the following people were and what they are known for: John
Muir, Capability Brown and Frederick Olmstead. |
| 20. |
What is the "Greenhouse Effect"? Why are trees effective in reducing it? |
| 21. |
Visit an arboretum, botanical gardens, nursery or national
park. Take a tour with a guide or a self-guided tour with trees as the central focus. |
| 22. |
Make a mobile using leaves, seeds, cones, etc. Do not remove any parts
from a living tree. Find all your material on the ground. |
| 23. |
Take a trip to a museum or a visit to your local library. Study the
presence of trees in paintings by the masters. |
| 24. |
Read stories and poems about trees. Create one of your own. |
| 25. |
Design a "Save The Trees" poster, bumper sticker or bookmark, or write a
newspaper article to ask people to save the trees. |
| 26. |
Environmental problems such as acid rain, rain forest destruction, smog,
soil erosion, clear cutting, as well as humans, affect trees. Collect newspaper and magazine
articles about these problems and discuss how you could help. |
| 27. |
Make a plaster of paris impression of a leaf. |
| 28. |
Find out WHY leaves turn different colors in fall. |
| 29. |
Demonstrate the movement of water in plants. Use a stalk of celery, a
carnation or a stalk of Queen Anne's lace. Cut off the end of the stem and place the stalk
in colored water. Ask the girls how a tree would soak up its water. |
| 30. |
As a summary exercise, interview a tree. What would it say about the people,
automobiles, pollution, swings, animals, birds, rain, sun and other things that you can identify. |
| 31. |
Find out what a tree farm is and how it helps the environment. How do
large lumber companies manage their resources? |
| 32. |
Visit a lumber yard. Find out where their lumber comes from, what kinds of
trees are used, how the lumber will be used and how many people are employed in the lumber yard. |
| 33. |
Examine a cross-section from a large tree or a tree stump. Look for the
annual growth rings and estimate the age of the tree by counting the rings. Compare the
girls' ages with the tree's. Look for differences in the width of the rings. |
| 34. |
Conduct a career hunt to find out about the many and diverse jobs related to trees. |
| 35. |
Leaves come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Take a hike and collect some
examples of different types of leaves. Try leaf rubbings, ink prints and make a scrapbook. |
| 36. |
Find a rotting log or tree stump. Use a magnifying glass or look closely
to discover small plants and animals on it. Find out how decaying trees replenish the soil. |
| 37. |
Visit a local newspaper. Ask how many tons of paper they use a week. Did
you know it takes 17 trees to make a ton of paper? How many trees does the newspaper use
each week? Do they use recycled paper? |
| 38. |
Hold an outdoor ceremony such as a Scout's Own. Include poems or songs
about trees, or have a tree planting ceremony. |
| 39. |
Design a tour of neighborhood trees to help people become aware of the
beauty that trees add to the community. Discover the kinds of trees in your area:
the biggest, the oldest, the most unusual. Make a scrapbook or brochure or make
a cassette tape of your tour. |
| 40. |
Save your paper. Find out where there is a recycling center in your
community. See if you can take a tour. How many products does your family buy made from
recycled products? |
| 41. |
The Trees For the Future organization promotes and
supports reforestation and environmentally sustainable land use in cooperation with local
groups in communities around the world. Learn about one of their projects in another part
of the world. |
Program link possibilities are:
Brownies - Careers, Animals, Creative Composing, Earth Is Our Home, Outdoor Fun,
Outdoor Happenings, Plants, Science Wonders;
Juniors - Geography Fun, My Community, Plants & Animals, Ready For Tomorrow, Eco-Action,
Ecology, Outdoor Creativity, Your Outdoor Surroundings;
Cadette/Seniors - Career Exploration, Creative Writing, Eco-Action, Wildlife.
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