These games help to develop observation and classification skills. They are best used to reinforce work learning to identify or study specific themes such as leaf patterns, different forest types, edible native plants, seeds or even the rock types of an area.
This activity brings home the concept of how far and how arduous this annual migration is for birds. It is a role play activity of sorts where the participants are specific bird species that must leave their breeding ground get to their wintering ground and return again. The activity sets a course which has many of the challenges that birds actually face while migrating. It is an experiential way for participants to understand migration, its natural and man-made hazards and the risks for birds to survive.
This activity is great for illustrating connections among the ecosystem services that are provided by Nature for all life to survive. It also is a visible demonstration of these connections and how interrelated we all are with them.
This activity is great for map reading skill development and for reinforcing understandings of the concepts of energy flow, interrelationships, cycling of materials and change in ecosystems.
This activity is great for exploring and describing the world using senses other than sight (touch mostly, but also smell and sound). It helps to create an intimate bond with a place and its inhabitants - especially the plants, rocks and terrain.
We have used journaling for all sorts of applications over the years in our programs. Primarily we use them to record important findings while participants engaged in activities such as “Build A Marine Ecosystem” or “Micro Trails or Parks”. We also incorporate journaling times into our schedule for students to have some regular quiet, reflective time.
This activity is great for increasing observational skills by allowing the participants to see the subtleties of an area, its smaller inhabitants and signs of different processes underway. Participants create a "micro trail or park" for tiny organisms marking important things in a natural area.
This activity is a concept trail designed to demonstrate with examples how a particular ecological process operates in this case interrelationships or interactions.