Suggested Activities For BSP Camporee 2019
Suggested Activities For BSP Camporee 2019
Activity Guide:
1. Give the Scouts five minutes to explore their surroundings. Ask them to discover all the different
things that make up the environment around them.
2. Gather the group together and discuss their discoveries. They should have noticed living things such
as trees, plants and animals as well as inanimate objects like soil, rocks and water. Ask the Scouts
how are these things all connected? Who eats who? Where do the animals live? What do the trees and
plants need to survive? They should discover that the environment is all linked together. Ask them if
there is anything else that is vital to this environment that we can’t see. The answer is air.
3. Sit the Scouts down and ask them to spend one or two minutes breathing in the air and thinking about
it. They should take really deep breaths and try to fill their lungs. At the end of the allotted time ask
them to describe the air around them. Does it taste of anything? Does it smell of anything? Can they
see it? What is in air?
4. Introduce the sticky leaves activity. Our air contains 21% oxygen, 72% nitrogen, approximately 7%
carbon dioxide and approximately 1% other gases including pollutants. The majority of the gases and
particles that make up our air, including the oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, are colorless,
odorless and tasteless. However, some of the pollutants are in particles big enough to be visible to the
naked eye. The sticky leaves activity enables these particles to be collected.
5. Ask the Scouts where they think air pollutants might come from (some sources are cars, fossil fuel-
burning power plants, volcanoes, fires, dust). Ask the Scouts about their current location. What
sources of air pollution are nearby?
6. Give each group some white paper, scissors and some sticky tape. Depending on the size or other
characteristics of your natural area and the size of your group, you can allocate each group their own
area or vegetation type or you can allow them to decide themselves where they sample.
7. The Scouts cut a piece of sticky tape and press it firmly, sticky side down, onto a leaf. They then
carefully remove the tape and stick it onto a piece of white paper. Each group should do this at least
ten times in order to get a representative sample and write down or draw the location where they took
the sample
8. Gather the Scouts together and compare the results. Rank the different samples in order of how dirty
they are. Where were the dirtiest samples taken from? Where were the cleanest samples taken from?
Is there a pattern, if so why? Where is the pollution coming from?
9. If you have sampled in more than one area then transfer your results to a map and discuss. Is there a
reason why certain areas show more pollution than others? Where is the pollution coming from?
10. Think about the damage the pollution in the air might be doing.
Sense Nature
Aim 2 – Scouts are working towards a world where sufficient natural habitat exists to support native
species
Activity Guide:
1. Find a suitable local natural area and take the group there.
2. Ask the group to name the five senses and discuss how we use these in our daily lives. How do our
senses help us to understand our surroundings?
3. Explain to the group that they are going to explore the natural environment around them using each
of the senses individually. Which senses do they use the most? Which sense do they think will tell
them the most and the least.
4. Do the following activities. Each activity will identify different features of the natural environment
you are exploring. Write down these features as the activities progress. The final activity ends by
summing up how our senses have painted a picture of the local environment.
Activity A:
5. Ask each Scout to find a comfortable place to sit.
What Disaster Am I?
Aim 5 – Scouts are working towards a world where people are prepared to respond to environmental
hazards and natural disasters.
Activity Guide:
1. Introduce the subject of natural disasters. Ask the scouts to name some different type of natural
disaster. Ensure that they have enough knowledge to begin the game and if necessary show the
group some pictures and ask them to describe the images.
2. Pin a picture of a natural disaster unto the back of each scout. Explain the objective of the
game. They have to find out what their natural disaster by moving around the group and asking
each other questions. The questions can only be answered with a “yes” or with a “no”. For
example: “Does my disaster involve wind?”
3. The Scouts move around the room, asking questions until they have worked out which natural
disaster they are. The first Scout to tell the leader the correct answer wins.
4. Allow the game to continue until everyone has worked out which natural disaster they have
worked out which natural disaster they are.
a. Gather the whole group together and show them all the different natural disaster
images. Find out from the group which images they are familiar with and which
images they are not familiar with.
Activity Guide:
1. Split the Scouts into small groups and give each group a map, paper, pen and a camera
(optional). A route can be marked on the map, or you can give them co-ordinates to follow, or
they can decide on their own route within a marked area.
2. Before the groups set off, have a quick discussion about where they think they might find water.
For example, stream or river, public toilets, puddle, water fountain etc.
3. The groups walk around the route looking for water. When they find some they should think
about the following questions. Where is the water? What is it used for? How much water is
there? Is it there every day? What color is it? Does it smell? Is it discolored? Can humans drink
it? Can animals drink it? If they have a camera they can take a photograph
4. Once all the groups have returned ask each group to present what they found and discuss the
findings. Use the questions below to help the discussion. If you have sampled in more than one
area then transfer your results to a map and discuss. Is there a reason why certain areas show
more pollution than others? Where is the pollution coming from?
a. Were the Scouts surprised by the quantity of water they discovered?
b. How does the water they found fi t into the water cycle?
c. How does the water help us?
d. How does the water help plants and animals?
e. Did anyone mention the water that is in the air as water vapor?
f. Did anyone mention the water in the soil and underground?
5. If you have taken photographs, create a display of the water in your neighborhood.
6. Did the groups identify water hidden within buildings? Ask them to think about what we use
water for in our homes and how that water gets there. What happens to that water before it
enters our homes? Where does it go after it leaves our homes and what happens to it then?
Nature Arts
Aim 2 – Scouts are working towards a world where sufficient natural habitat exists to support native
species
Activity Guide:
1. Find a suitable local natural area and take the group there.
2. Ask each Scout to find a comfortable space in the natural environment and spend a few minutes
looking around them at the local nature.
3. Gather the group together and talk about what they noticed in their surroundings.
4. Ask each Scout to choose one thing in the environment and draw a picture of it. Hand out paper and
pens. Once they have finished they present their picture to the rest of the group.
5. Ask the Scouts to form into small groups (of between three and five). They are going to use the
natural objects around them to create some art - a picture or a sculpture. Make sure they respect the
natural objects and do not harm any living creatures. They can use leaves, branches, stones, soil,
trees, shrubs etc. If you want you can give them a theme for their art work.
6. Once they have finished gather the whole group together and go on a tour of the art work. Each group
should explain their work.
a. Find out what the Scouts learnt about the natural environment they visited. What animals and
plants did they see? Did they discover things in the natural environment that they hadn’t seen
before? How do the different natural elements work together to create the environment?
Discuss how the ecosystem works.
b. Find out how much the Scouts enjoy being in the natural environment. Did the activity help
them to connect with nature?
Garbage Challenge
Aim 4 – Scouts are working towards a world where the most suitable environmental practices are used.
Refuse – for example, unnecessary packaging, leaflets, promotional material, plastic bags
Repair – clothes, electrical equipment etc
Reduce – choose products that have less packaging, use only what you need
Reuse – buy second hand items, donate items to second hand shops, and use items more than once
Recycle – buy products that can be recycled and recycle them
Activity Guide:
1. Split the group into teams and give each team a bag of rubbish.
2. Explain that the object of the game is to make your bag of rubbish as small as possible in a set
amount of time. This is done by sorting through the rubbish and deciding how to dispose of things
in a different way. Ask the group to think about what they can do to make the bag of rubbish smaller
in the first place.
3. After five minutes ask each team to explain why they removed certain items from their bags and
where they will put them if not in the rubbish. They should also explain what they would do
ZAIDY S. ARGENTE, 2BH w/ CML – Council Advancement Chairman
differently – they should identify that some things could have been refused and that they could buy
things with less packaging or packaging that is reusable or recyclable.
4. The team with the smallest bag of rubbish at the end is the winner. The other half the things they
can improve
5. Discuss the activity and introduce the five ‘R’ approach to waste.
a. What do the Scouts think about these ideas?
b. What do they do already? What would be easy to do?