sample activities in the forest: creative activities

Sample activitiesin the forest:

Creative activities

Imagination ismore important

than knowledge;because knowledge

is limitedwhile imagination

encompassesthe whole world.

Albert Einstein

Cre

ativ

e activities

“A Day of Adventure in the Forest: Environmental activities for protected areas”

360

SUMMARY OF INFORMATION

In this chapter you will find some ideas to enrich your guided excursion througha series of creative activities. They are ideas to combine crafts with games. Onlong excursions or in a special camp, creative activities can expand themes youhave developed and keep your audience engaged.

We include activities to carve and cut wood, to build musical instruments andnests, to play games, and other things that promote creativity and improve theability to observe the colors of the forest. Many of these activities require a cer-tain amount of preparation, and in some cases a wood shop or a worktable.

Because a good portion of these activities require a lot of material, you may askfor a partial donation from the participants.

For the theme of Creative Activities, we present:

SUMMARY OF INFORMATION

ACTIVITIES

Creative activities

Sample activities in the forest: Creative activities

361

Development:

Before the activity you should find a place in the forest where there are trees thathave fallen from some natural phenomenon. Each participant should choose abranch approximately 1 m high or long and 60 cm in diameter.

Before beginning the work, an expert should explain carving techniques using achisel size 4 or 5. This brief lesson is important to reduce the risk of accidents andwounds. Nonetheless, a first aid kit should always be at hand.

After removing the bark from the branches, each participant thinks about whathe/she wants to carve and uses chalk to draw the shape on the wood. Animal fig-ures are the easiest to begin carving.

Objective: to experience wood asa raw material during thecreative process of the activity

Type of activity: physical,creative

No. of participants: maximum15 people

Age: 10 years and older

Time limit: minimum 4 hours

Materials:• wood • carving tools• chalk• chisel• first aid kit

Preparation:• prepare the wood• bring in an expert

(carpenter, sculptor)

Weather conditions: dry season

Contents:

Carved sculptures on columns of wood.

CARVING WOOD BRANCHES

Creative Activities No. 1

Cre

ativ

e activities


362

During the carving process, you will again need the assistance of the expertwho should move from participant to participant to help them resolve any prac-tical problem they may have.

During the work, the guide can give information about the raw material (thewood) and other important basic knowledge.

Leave the carved branches in the forest for other visitors to admire.

Suggestions:

For the carving, the maximum numberof participants should be 15. Thisnumber depends also on the availabil-ity of chisels, which can be very cost-ly. However, some technical or voca-tional schools have the necessary toolsand might loan them to the protectedarea. Because carpenters and carvershave lots of experience in woodwork-ing, it is recommended that they par-ticipate in the preparatory phase ofthis activity.

Variations:

Once the carving is finished, the sculp-tures can be ‘painted’ with a blow-torch.

Additional information:

Some species of trees that are usuallyused in carpentry are mahogany, teakand cedar.

Creative activities


363

Development:

First, straight but flexible branches must be found and prepared. These are nec-essary for the construction of the tent. With the help of the guide, the childrenlearn by testing, which trees or types of wood are especially appropriate forthis activity. Use a strong pair of scissors to cut the sticks, 1 to 2 cm thick, by1.5 to 2 meters long and remove all the leaves. You will need 51 sticks to con-struct 17 braces, or supports, using 3 sticks for each brace. A basic simple tentframe can be constructed with 3 braces. Then, consider how many participantsyou have and how many braces you wish to use per tent; 17 braces will giveyou a number of options.

To make a tent brace, or support, lash one stick first to one end of another stick.Then, lash another stick to the other end of the 'middle' stick, resulting in onelong brace of about 4 meters. Once you have your braces ready, bend thebraces in a similar manner, place them to form a circle and lash them togetherat the top with the rope or cord. (See Annex) The braces are then anchored inthe ground to about 10 cm deep, to prevent the tent from collapsing.

Objective: to experience theversatility of wood

Type of activity: active

No. of participants: maximum10 people per tent


Time limit: approximately3 hours

Materials:• rope or cord• 3 or 4 scissors or sharp

knives• cloth or blankets (may be

branches with leaves)

Preparation: choose anappropriate site

Weather conditions: N. A.

Contents:

Construction of a wooden tent, igloo style, using natural materials exclusively.

CONSTRUCTION OF A WOODEN TENT


Cre

ativ

e activities


364

Cover the structure with the prepared blankets and cloths or use branches withleaves that can be lashed with the rope or cord to the braces. The more clothsthat are used, the fewer the number of braces required.

Suggestions:

Once the work is completed, the following is recommended:

• Prepare thin sticks, about the thickness of a finger, of strong, green and not too flammable wood to cook sausages or bread (see SAMPLE ACTIVITIES IN THE FOREST, Night Excursions).

• Spend the night in the tent (see SAMPLE ACTIVITIES IN THE FOREST,Night Excursions).

Creative activities


365

Instructions to make the braces:

Join the sticks with the rope, allowing for an overlap of 50 cm

Bend all the braces the same way.

Place all the braces in a circle, one on top of the other, tie a knot at the appex.

CONSTRUCTION OF A WOODEN TENT

Annex to Creative Activities No. 2

Cre

ativ

e activities


366

Objective: to construct cabinsmade of tree bark




Time limit: 3 to 4 days

Materials:

• first aid kit• axes, saws and hammers• ruler or measuring tape• knife to remove bark• base (18 round wood slices,

12 to 15 cm diameter)• horizontal bar (24 m long round

wood, 12 cm diameter)• beams (7 pieces of round wood,

4 m long, 12 to 15 cm diameter)• cover (12 m2 tar paper)• bark (approx. 35 m2)• nails to affix the bark, 90 mm,

5 pounds• nails 130 mm, approx. 5 pounds• nails 180 mm, approx. 5 pounds• tacks for the tar paper approx.

2 pounds

Preparation: acquire material and prepare the construction site

Weather conditions: avoid rainyconditions

Contents:

To build a ‘bark cabin’ in the style used only a few decades ago by Germanwoodcutters who were unable to return home at night when they were work-ing deep in the forest.

CONSTRUCTION OF A BARK CABIN


Creative activities


367

Development:

First place the corner columns that reinforce the horizontal beams or transver-sals.

Nail the prepared unions together.

The corner columns and the intermediate columns, depending on the size ofthe cabin, are buried in the ground to a depth of approximately 60 cm.

Do not forget to leave spaces for the entrance and the windows.

To construct the roof, use round beams 4 meters long. The overhang on bothsides should be approximately 0.5 meters.

Above the beams nail staves 20 mm thick on a total of 12 m2. Cover it with 12m2 of tarpaper.

Cover the entire structure, including the roof, with the tree bark. For this, youneed the bark of three trees, without branches where possible (2.5 to 3 m3 ofwood mass). This is done with a knife. To remove the bark by hand andrequires a lot of skill. In all, about 35 m2 of bark is needed, which is equivalentto individual pieces of 1.5 to 2 m.

If the bark is not used right away, it must be laid out in the shade and haveweights placed on it to prevent it from curling.

Suggestions:

Experienced carpentersshould do the work.

If you are working withyoung people, you needat least one adult forevery three youths.

The site should not haverocks or big roots. Thecabin can be constructedon slight and moderateinclines (see illustration).

Cre

ativ

e activities


368

Development:

Chisel 12 small holes in the plank (two rows of six holes for the game) and 2 larg-er elongated holes (holes for the winnings on the two far ends). The holes shouldnot penetrate the plank and should be of sufficient size to hold 6 seeds each.

Sketch:

Objective: creation with wood




Time limit: approximately 1 hour

Materials:• piece of wood (plank approx.

20 cm x 10 cm x 2 cm)• files• saws and sand paper• seeds• chisel and hammer

Preparation: prepare work area


Contents:

With bits of wood we build a simple African game called “Mancala.”

TABLE GAME


= hole for the winnings

= hole for the game

XX

·

Creative activities


369

After carving the holes with an appropriate tool, such as a chisel, the gameboard should be sanded until it is smooth.

Rules to play the game “Mancala,” a simple table game, from Africa.• Mancala was played thousands of years ago in Egypt. Chiseled stone tables

were found in the Keops Pyramid and in the Luxor and Karnak Temples.

• The Mancala table has six holes to play along the length of each side and ahole for the winnings at each end.

• At the beginning of the game there are three seeds in each one of the sixholes of the game. The two players, A and B, each have six game holes ontheir respective sides of the table and a hole for the winnings located ontheir right.

• The first player, A, removes all the seeds from one of the holes on his side,for example from Hole 1, and distributes them one by one in the followingholes on his side. If Player Abegins his game with the firsthole, the table looks like this:(Fig. 1).

• If he prefers to remove theseeds from the fourth hole, hecan count them so that the lastone falls in the winnings hole.If he achieves this, he canplay another round.

• The objective of the player isto collect the greatest numberof seeds possible in their win-nings hole. The game endswhen one player has no moreseeds in his game holes.

• But, if he begins his game withthe seeds from the fifth hole,he distributes the three seedsin the holes 6, 1 and 2; that ishe begins the count in Hole 1located at his left (Fig. 2).

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Cre

ativ

e activities


370

• The opponent may intervene inthe other player’s game if thelast seed lands in an emptyhole. In this case, the seedsfrom the opposite hole, corre-sponding to the opponent, canand should be transferred to hisown hole (Fig. 3).

• Player A from Figure 2 followsfor example with his seeds from Hole 1 and reaches Hole 5 with his lastseed, which is empty. Now he can take the three seeds from Player B’s Hole2 (Fig. 3).

• Now Player A has no seeds in his Hole 2. He can retrieve them if he con-tinues playing with his three seeds from Hole 5.

Suggestions:

The game can be played with wood paste (see CREATIVE ACTIVITIES 8,Wood Paste).

Figure 3.

Creative activities


371

Development:

Construct the birdhouse according to the directions in Annex 2.

Take advantage of the opportunity to transfer useful knowledge about wood asraw material or the importance of birdhouses in the forest.

The participants take their birdhouses home.

Suggestions:

Do not use paint or any kind of protection on the wood.

Variations:

So that the participants may learn about the different methods to documenttheir observations of birds, you can discuss and distribute the observation list.You should also mention books to help them identify the different species.

Objective: to offer the possibilityof observing birds at home

Type of activity: lively



Time limit: 2 hours

Materials:• elements (see Annex 2)

• nails and hammers• observation lists (see Annex 1)

Preparation:• prepare the work area• prepare the material• photocopy bird observation

list


Contents:

Building a birdhouse to observe birds at home.

BUILDING A BIRDHOUSE


Cre

ativ

e activities


372

Species DateArrivalTime

DepartureTime

Quick Visit Time(to feed the fledglings)

OBSERVATION OF BIRDS IN A BIRDHOUSE

Annex 1 of Creative Activities No. 5

Creative activities


373

Materials:

Pieces of wood according to the construction plan (thickness 20 mm)6 nails, 30 mm12 nails, 50 mm2 staples and wire to hang the birdhouse

Building process: (see Construction plan)

a. With 2 nails respectively, (50 mm) nail the two sideparts against the back.

b. Place the floor and nail it with 4 nails (50 mm).

c. With 2 nails (30 mm) respectively nail 2 lathes on the front part (above at the height of the oblique part, down about 1 cm).

d. Nail the roof with 4 nails (50 mm). The roof must overhang on all sides.

e. Nail the last lathe with 2 nails (30 mm) against the front part.

f. Place the front wall on the birdhouse (collapsible system see Sketch of finished birdhouse).

g. Affix the wire with staples on the two sides to hangthe birdhouse.

Sketch of finished birdhouse

c. a.

e. b.

d.

BUILDING A BIRDHOUSE

Annex 2 for Creative Activities No. 5

Cre

ativ

e activities


374

Construction plan: scale 1:2

Copy (200%), useful to make patterns.

Plan: • Side (2 pieces)• Back wall• Front wall• Roof: same as back wall but 17 cm wide (dotted line)• Floor

2 x side wall Back wall

Floor

Front wall

28 cm

28 cm17 cm

28 cm

20 cm

12 cm

12 cm

12 cm12 cm

Creative activities


375

Development:

Using a drill, perforate the blocks of wood (any size but at least the size of abrick) with holes between 2 and 10 mm in diameter. The small holes do nothave to be deep, but the big ones must be at least 10 mm deep.

The ‘nests’ are placed against the walls of houses, posts or trees in the forest.Select shady places protected from the wind.

The nests can also be distributed among the participants who can place themnear their homes.

Suggestions:

Use a short-fiber wood, such as oak, where the perforations will not close upwith the humidity.

A wood shop or a carpenter’s bench is necessary.

Objective: to work with wood and to learn about differentmethods to protect the forest

Type of activity: lively,investigative



Time limit: approximately 1 hour

Materials:• hard blocks of wood• electric drill• straw or stems• rope

Preparation:• prepare work area• prepare material


Contents:

Construction of nests for insects, using leftover pieces of wood.

HELP FOR INSECTS


Cre

ativ

e activities


376

Sketch:

Variations:

Many insects use hollow tall stems to deposit their eggs. For example, thatchedroofs are ideal ‘nests’ for these creatures. We can also help insects by gather-ing and tying together a bundle of hollow straws or grasses. The bundles arethen put in similar places as the blocks of wood.

Additional information:

Help for insects?More often than not, we think of insects as nuisances because some of themsting, bite, eat our food or make holes in our clothes. Because of this prejudice,many are persecuted without reason. The very important role of insects in theecosystem has, in good measure, been lost. Only a tiny fraction of insects isdangerous or harmful to human beings, and their supposed danger is oftenexaggerated. For example, think about wasps. Actually, they are peacefulinsects. Their sting is not as dangerous as that of the bees. They only stingwhen they feel threatened. Wasps are mostly inoffensive, often useful andsome are on the endangered list. Wasps are important to the forest ecosystemand are the natural enemies of forest parasites.

Creative activities


377

Development:

Each participant selects different sized sheets of wood.

They can fabricate animals or imaginary creatures using the supplied patternsor using their own ideas (see illustrations).

The sheets of wood can be glued together with wood glue.

The animals will be more stable if they are glued to a cardboard backing.

The paint can be applied afterwards.

Variations:

The animals can be hidden in the forest and used for a treasure hunt (see varia-tion in FOREST AS VITAL LIVING SPACE 15, Camouflage, Warning andDeception).

Objective: to transmit theversatility of wood

Type of activity: lively; stimulatesthe imagination



Time limit: approximately3 hours

Materials:• carpenter’s bench• thin sheets of wood• wood glue or other type

of glue• paper clips• brush and paint

Preparation:• prepare models• prepare workplace


Contents:

Creative use of wood.

ANIMALS MADE OF WOOD

Creative activities Nº 7

Cre

ativ

e activities


378

Other materials, such as seeds, leaves and branches can be applied to makebeautiful, fantastic animals.

Creative activities


379

Development:

Mix the sawdust with the wood paste and water until it forms a moldabledough.

Sculptures and other works of art or practical objects, such as plates, trays orglasses can be created with the dough.

The wood paste needs one or two days to dry. Then the sculptures can be fin-ished using saws, files and sandpaper.

Variations:

The Mancala board game presented in CREATIVE ACTIVITIES 4, TableGame can be made with wood paste.

Objective: to work creativelywith moldable materials

Type of activity: meditative,creative



Time limit: 1 to 2 hours

Materials:• sawdust• wood paste• water• saw• file• sandpaper

Preparation:• prepare materials


Contents:

Making sculptures with wood paste.

WOOD PASTE SCULPTURES


Cre

ativ

e activities


380

Development:

The participants collect and classify leaves according to pure colors and inter-mediate colors; for example, green with yellow or yellow with red. Then theypin the leaves to a soft, dead trunk or branch according to the color scale.

The color scale can be repeated various times.

Natural materials can be used, such as thorns from some plants, to affix theleaves.

Variations:

If affixed to dry branches, the participants may take home their work.

If the participants have cameras, they may also take photographs as a funmemento.

Objective: to perceive the beautyof the colors of the forest

Type of activity: active, creative

No. of participants: 5 to 15 people


Time limit: approximately30 minutes

Materials:• colorful leaves• thorns or pins or tacks• dead branches or trunk• thimbles

Preparation:• collect fallen leaves

Weather conditions: a very sunnyday

Contents:

Taking artistic advantage of colorful forest leaves.

THE COLORS OF THE FOREST


Creative activities


381

Color circle:Each participant, or small group of 3 to 4 persons, collects one color, for exam-ple, red, yellow, brown and green. When everyone has collected a good quan-tity of leaves, find a clearing and have the group form a circle with the basiccolors. Then ask the participants to place the leaves such that they form thecolor scale. The circle closes by itself. For example: light yellow – dark yel-low – yellow brown – brownish green – green – reddish green – red – orange– yellow – light yellow.

The leaves can be affixed in the form of a tree.

sample activities in the forest: creative activities

Documents