Our second meeting in April included a visit by the 2nd year Brownies from the 3rd Caledonia Brownie Unit.As the girls arrived, the visiting Brownies were added into Patrols and each Patrol brainstormed a list of ways they can take care of the environment through the 4 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Refuse). We had our usual opening, welcomed the Brownies, and then one Patrol led an active game.
Our first activity was a quick summary of the ideas each Patrol had come up with to make one master list. Each Patrol then picked 1-3 of the ideas and created a skit to share the ideas with the rest of the Unit.
We then moved on to a recycling game. Each Patrol had 4 cards labeled "Garbage Can", "Composter", "Recycling Bin", and "Return/Reuse". The Patrols sat at one end of the room and the leaders at the other. A leader called out an item (i.e. pizza delivery box, orange peels, clothing, straws) and each Patrol had to decide which card showed the correct location and then one player from each Patrol had run up to the leaders with the card. The first Patrol to arrive with the correct answer received 4 beads, the second 3 beads, third 2 beads, and fourth 1 bead. There was often more than one correct answer, and as long as the girl bringing up the card could justify her answer, it was accepted (especially the Return/Reuse card). The Patrol with the most beads at the end of the game was the winner.
Next we learned about vermicomposting, we had brought in our vermicomposter from home so the girls were able to see and touch the worms and soil in the composter. (Vermicomposting uses red wriggler worms to consume the waste materials and produce nutrient-rich soil (worm poo!)) To learn more about vermicomposting visit http://greenactioncentre.ca/content/vermicomposting/.Our final activity was to make small planters and plant seeds. Each girl made her own planter using half of an empty water bottle, googly eyes and a pompom nose. We then planted marigold seeds and added some compost (courtesy of the worms) to help the seeds grow.
Each girl took home a slip asking them to help with sorting and putting out their family's recycling for at least one month. Girls who complete this take-home task will earn the Recycling Badge!
