This week's meeting was spent working on the Ecology Badge. One of the things we often do is to created our own requirements to meet the purpose of the badge, and this was no exception.
As the girls arrived, the Patrol Leaders took attendance and collected dues. Each Patrol then did some brainstorming and made two lists - things to eat at camp and things to do at camp - as we look ahead to our winter camp in February.
Following our usual opening, we played a Find Your Match Game with animal noses. Each girl is given the name of an animal (cat, dog, chicken, snake, bumblebee) and has to find the other person who has the same animal by making the sound that animal makes.
We then sat down for a short discussion. We talked about what ecology is (the study of how animals and plants depend on each other, the weather, sunlight and water) and ecosystems (environments and the plants and animals that live there). As we have a new subdivision being built just outside of town, we also talked about what happens to animals when humans build roads and houses where the animals live. This led to talking about the animals that are seen as 'pests' in the community (raccoons, rabbits, rats) and why we are seeing them more often.
The next activity was a Food Chain Game. I believe this game is often called Amoeba or something similar. Everyone starts as a Bumblebee and moves around the playing area 'buzzing'. When they meet another Bumblebee, they play "rock, paper, scissors". The winner moves up the food chain and the loser moves down the food chain, unless they are already at the bottom (Bumblebee), in which case they stay there. So, when two Bumblebees play each other, the winner moves up to become a Sparrow. Players can only play someone who is at the same level of the food chain as they are - i.e. Sparrows can only play other Sparrows. The goal is to moves up the food chain - Bumblebee, Sparrow, Fox, Eagle, Human - although we kept the game going by having the Humans play each other to remain at the top.
The group then split into two, with one group making milk carton birdfeeders and the other learning about vermicomposting.
The birdfeeders were simple, made out of 500mL milk cartons with a hole cut in the front and and a popsicle stick for a perch. We filled them with a mixture of birdseed and sunflower butter and talked about what birds eat and why it is good to leave some plant life (i.e. dead sunflowers) in the garden over the winter as a food source.
One of our Guiders has a vermicomposter that she brought in to show the girls. Vermicomposting is a form of composting that uses red wriggler worms to breakdown food scraps into rich compost that can be used in your garden. What's neat about vermicomposters is that they can be kept indoors and as long as they are cared for, they don't smell! The girls were able to see the composter (worm poop!) and handle some of the worms.
As our final activity, we divided the girls up into two groups and had each create and lead a game. The first group was
asked to come up with a game about living things and their surroundings. In their game one player is the Germinator and one is the Gardener. When the Germinator tags a player, they become a Weed and have to sit down on the floor. The Gardener can 'water' the weeds to turn them back into plants who can then rejoin the game. The second group was asked to come with a game about recycling. In their game, one person leaves the room and the others sit in a circle. One player has a water bottom and the person who was out of the room has to guess who has it. They made up and sang a song called 'Who's the Litterer?' to the tune of 'Make a Circle'.
We ended with reminders for next week and closed with Taps.
Useful Links
This week, the Guides, Pathfinders and Rangers took
part in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. We cleaned up about 10kg
of garbage from a 1km stretch along the Grand River by the Caledonia
Dam. Our biggest find? Cigarette butts (135 with many more uncounted).
Oddest finds? A deflated soccer ball, a golf ball, and the blade from a hockey stick.
