Ideas for Green, Use Resources Wisely Meetings
Requirements for earning petal:
- Read and discuss Clover's story
- Make a collage using old magazines
- Practice being resourceful
Circle
Read a book
The Lorax
by Dr. Seuss
Through Dr. Seuss's story, girls will be presented the concept of needless waste in a "natural" environment, and will learn how this story relates to the real world.
Discuss with the girls how the smogulous smoke produced by the THNEEDS factory made the Lorax cough, whiff, sneeze, snuff, snarggle, and croak. Talk about air pollution produced by cars and other machinery with gas-burning engines, as well as emissions produced by furnaces, fireplaces, factories, and incinerators.
Arthur Turns Green
by Marc Brown
Arthur is working on a school project called the big green machine and DW thinks it is turning her whole family green and that she is next.
Fancy Nancy Every Day Is Earth Day
by Jane O'Connor
Nancy enjoys getting everyone to be more green, but sometimes she goes a bit too far.
We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers
by Lauren Child
Lola and her brother get everyone to get involved in recycling. Funny, but only covers recycling
Gabby and Grandma Go Green
When Gabby comes to visit her grandmother, they give their day a green focus, reusing, returning, refilling and recycling.
Notes: Girls especially enjoyed finding the mouse and reading his comments
Discussion topic
Help the environment
Make a list and draw pictures of things you can do to help the environment and use resources wisely. Share your list during circle time.
Reduce Reuse Recycle
From: http://troopleadermom.blogspot.com/
- Who can tell me what Resources are? (Things we use.)
- What are examples of Natural Resources? (Water, air, land, etc.)
- What is being wise? (It's more than just being smart; it's also thinking ahead.)
- How can we be wise about using resources?
- Well, water is a resource. When you brush your teeth, do you think you should let the water in the faucet run while you're brushing? Or turn it off until you're ready to rinse? ("TURN IT OFF!" they all shouted.)
- Right! If you turn it off, you're saving water. You're using water wisely.
- I held up a piece of paper and said, "This is a resource too. Where does paper come from?" ("TREES!")
- So if you are coloring, should you use one side of a page, or two? Which saves paper?
- Since we meet in a classroom in our school, I always bring a recycle and garbage can with me. We always put our recyclables in our own can, and I take them home with me to recycle. It's even on our Kaper Chart, that one girl is in charge of making sure recyclables so in the right can.
- So I showed them the recycle can and the garbage can and asked which is using resources wisely. Why?
- Then I held up a reduce, reuse, recycle picture (from this site):
Reduce means using only what you need. (Like the water when brushing your teeth. And I shook the water in the bottle.)
Reuse means using something more than once. (Like drinking from a washable water bottle)
Recycle means turning something old into something new.
Reduce Reuse Recycle: Variation with props
- What are examples of natural resources?
Water, metal, plastic, paper, food, energy, gas
- Why do we need to use them wisely?
Because they will run out.
- Have some props and then ask for each: What are some examples of how to reduce, reuse, or recycle this item?
A piece of paper, a book, a outgrown piece of clothing, a bottle, etc.
- If you are doing this, what should you do to use resources wisely?
- If you want to go to your friend’s house
- If you have a light on and you are leaving a room
- If you are brushing your teeth
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Type
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Activity Descriptions
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supplies
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Badge
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Come up with a fun craft project to make together with “trash” items found around your house.
Practice counting change when making purchases at the store.
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Dirt Cups
add gummi worms into "dirt" made from JELL-O Instant Pudding and
chocolate-sandwich cookies. Ingredients: 2 cups of cold milk, 1 package (4 serving size) JELL-O Instant Pudding (chocolate flavor), 3-1/2 cups (8 ounce container) COOL WHIP whipped topping, thawed, 1 package (16 ounces) chocolate sandwich cookies (likeOREOS) (crush them into tiny pieces in a plastic bag), gummy worms or insects
Cooking Instructions: Pour the milk into the mixing bowl and add the pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk until well blended (about two minutes). Let pudding stand for five minutes. Stir whippped topping and 1/2 of the crushed cookies into the pudding (very gently) with rubber scraper until mixture is all the same color. Place about 1 tablespoon of the remaining crushed cookies into the bottom of each cup.
Fill cups about 3/4 full with pudding mixture. Top each cup with the rest of the crushed cookies. Add gummy worms and insects to decorate. Put cups into the refrigerator for about one hour to chill them-- and enjoy!
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Jello instant pudding
Oreos
Milk
Gummy worms
CoolWhip
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Maracas
The troop made maracas out of recycled materials (Pringle containers and beans).
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Container
Beans
Decorating materials
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Recycled Materials Free Form Art
The troop leaders brought stuff that would normally be thrown away (rolls of old fax paper, scraps of construction paper, shoe boxes, popsicle sticks) and miscellaneous craft stuff left over from other projects, then set it out with NO instructions other than "make something." All 20 girls were almost instantly busy. Some worked together on a long mural with the fax paper, others decorated shoe boxes, some made picture frames with the popsicle sticks.
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Recyclables
Glue
Tape
Markers
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Candle Holders
The girls made candle holders out of baby food jars. They painted on thinned Elmers glue and placed colored tissue paper on the glue. Then they smoothed out the paper and painted some more glue over it to ensure that it was flattened. Then they tied on a ribbon and added a small candle. This was a nice craft for the girls, didn’t cost much, and illustrated how we can all re-use old stuff, even old tissue paper.
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Glass jars
Tissue paper
Glue
Ribbon
Candles
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Make a milk jug bird feeders.
Rinse out an empty plastic gallon milk jug with lid. Cut a window in the front of the jug, and make two small poke holes for the perches. Insert pencils for perches and fill the bottom of the jug with bird seed.
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Milk jugs
Scissors
Pencils
Bird feeders
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Nature Observation
Variation 1:Go “bug-searching”.
The outing provides a chance to recognize that there are many plants and animals living in our natural surroundings, a fact we often forget in our daily lives, and to understand firsthand the richness and importance of nature. Make a pair of first binoculars to help girls focus on just one fuzzy caterpillar or… tape together two empty toilet paper rolls and tie a string for first “binoculars.” Girls can decorate them too.
Variation 2: Use all five senses
Discover nature using the girls’ senses to sights, sound, scent, touch and taste. Go outside. Feel the texture of leaves or moss, smell the mud and listen with eyes closed to the sounds of wind. Lie on your back to observe clouds and make pictures from them, or taste the rain. When back inside have girls draw what they saw, felt, heard, etc…
Variation 3:Weather Watch Hunt:
Go for a walk outside and look for the things described in the list below. When you find something on the list, check it off.
See if you can find the following:
Something being warmed by the sun
A place that is hot
Something in the shade
A place that is cool
Something blowing in the wind
Something wet by the rain
Something that will protect you from the rain
A cloud shaped like an animal
Something hidden by snow
A good place to go in case of a hurricane
A good place to go in case of a tornado
A place to protect you from the wind
An animal that seems to be enjoying the weather
Variation 3:Scavenger Hunt
Go on a Nature scavenger hunt. Look for things like a yellow leaf or a puddle.
This has a good nature scavenger hunt.
http://howtonestforless.com/2012/07/24/nature-scavenger-hunt-for-the-kids-free-printable/
nature scavenger hunt.pdf
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Toilet paper rolls
Decorating materials
Or
Paper
Crayons
pencils
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Garage Sale Books
To emphasize the value of re-using items, not just recycling, go to a garage/yard sale and buy childrens books (should cost around 25 cents each). Wrap the books in previously used wrapping paper. Give each girl one of the books and talk about how it saves money to re-use items (12 yard sale books cost less than 1 new book), uses resources wisely, and reduces garbage. Plus, the girls really enjoy getting a present.
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Yard sale books
Newspaper or old wrapping paper
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Green - Resources
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Craft
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Pipe cleaner bird feeder
Have the girls bend pipe cleaners in half and then thread cheerios on the two halves. Adults then help connect the ends. Girls can make whatever shape they would like. Tie a string on the end when they are done. If you have time, you can do two and connect them together.
http://mycrazyblessedlife.com/2012/05/10/after-school-craft-heart-shaped-bird-feeder/
Notes:excellent craft, easy and lots of fun
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Bring an example to meeting
Pipe cleaners
Cheerios
Ribbon
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Green - Resources
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Craft (20 min)
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Promise Pals
1. Split girls into small groups of two to four girls.
2. Have each girl share with her group one thing that she is going to do at home or at school use
resources wisely, such as:
Recycle items rather than throwing them away
Make a craft or gift out of clean “garbage”
Use less of a natural resource, like wood, energy or water
2. Have each girl make a promise to the other girls in her group identifying how she will use resources
wisely. The girls in the group are now Promise Pals.
3. If possible, have the small groups check in with one another at another troop meeting to make sure
they kept their promises.
4. Have girls color their Clover coloring sheets.
5. Girls can write (or have an adult help them write) what they promised to do from Activity #4. This
coloring sheet will serve as a reminder of the girl’s promise.
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Clover coloring sheets (1 per girl)
Meeting Clover.pdf
Coloring utensils
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Green - Resources
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Game
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Bean Bag Game
Play a game using bean bags as cans and a hoola hoop as the recycling bin. Stand in a circle around the "recycling bin" and this song. (the tune is 5 In The Bed and the little one said roll over etc.)
There's a can in the bin and another goes in Recycle ! Recycle!
So ____________ (child's name ) recycled and threw in a can.
There's 2 cans in the bin etc.
Continue the song until all children have had their names called to throw a bean bag.
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Bean bag
Hoola hoop
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Green - Resources
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Game (15 min)
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Recycling Challenge
Spread recyclables around the floor of your meeting room
1. Explain to the girls that a great way to use resources wisely is to recycle items. When you put items in a
recycling bin, they are broken down and used to make new items. While they are sometimes recycled
into the same kind of item, they may be made into something completely different.
2. Explain that your meeting space has been “polluted” and it’s up to the girls to clean it up. Split the girls
into two teams and line up on opposite sides of the room.
3. The teams will compete in a relay race to clean the meeting space. To start, a girl from each team will
go pick up one piece of trash and put it in the correct recycling bin. She will then go back to her team
and the next girl will go until all the trash is cleaned up. After all the items are picked up, go through all
the types of recyclables and make sure they are in the correct container. If they aren’t, have the girls
decide as a group where they should go.
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Various recyclable materials including: paper, plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc.
Small recycling bins or a recyclables sorter (note: You can use small trashcans, cardboard boxes,
paper grocery bags or even trash bags. Be sure to labels your “bins” with words and pictures so the
girls know which one is which.)
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Green - Resources
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Songs
Down by the Bay
Lead girls in a round of "Down by the Bay". Raffi performs this song on Singable Songs for the
Very Young
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
"Did you ever see a fly
Wearing a tie?"
Down by the bay.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
"Did you ever see a bear
Combing his hair?"
Down by the bay.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
"Did you ever see a moose
Kissing a goose?"
Down by the bay.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
"Did you ever see a whale
With a polka dot tail?"
Down by the bay.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
"Did you ever see some llamas
Eating pajamas?"
Down by the bay.
Down by the bay
Where the watermelons grow
Back to my home
I dare not go
For if I do
My mother will say
"Did you ever have a time
When you couldn't make a rhyme?"
Down by the bay.
RECYCLING IN MY HOME
(tune: wheels on the bus)
Recycling in my home goes round and
round,
Round and round, round and round.
Recycling in my home goes round and
round,
All through the day.
Tie up the papers and take them back,
Take them back, take them back.
Tie up the papers and take them back,
All through the day.
Crush the cans and take them back.....
Rinse the milk bottles and take them
back....
Save the glass and take it back......
THIS OLD EARTH
(tune: This Old Man)
This old earth
Needs our help
To stay fresh and clean and green
With a pick it up; pitch it in; and throw it in the can--
This old earth needs a helping hand!
THIS LAND
(tune: This land is your land)Bridging Ceremony Bridging Ceremony
This land is your land
This land is my land,
Let's work together
To make it better
From tall green forests to clear blue waters
This land depends on you and me!
Outings and Visitors
Field Trip Ideas:
- Visit your local recycling center.
- Visit a local or state park and talk to the rangers or Parks and Recreation staff about how they use resources wisely.
- Visit the library
We actually tied in this petal project with a trip to the local library about how to use your resources to answer questions you might have about anyone or anything! The librarian gave us a tour where to find books, magazines, newspapers from around the country, tapes and DVDs. She showed the girls how to ask for help at the "info desk" and how we use computers to locate items in the library and how people can use the internet to do research. You can then end the meeting with a storytime.
Speaker Ideas
o Invite a forester or Department of Natural Resources employee to talk about taking care or trees, water and other natural resources.
o Invite someone who was alive during the Great Depression or World War II to talk about why and how they had to conserve resources during that time
Sample Meeting 1
Sample meeting one:
Green, Use resources Wisely Sample Meeting 1.odt
Green, Use resources Wisely Sample Meeting 1.pdf
Use Resources Wisely Daisy Girl Scout Meeting
Petals earned: - Green, Use Resources Wisely
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Time
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Description
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Supplies
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Who will lead
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Opening Activity
(15 min)
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Snack / Color
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Handouts
Crayons & Markers
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Circle (20 min)
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- Recite Pledge of Allegiance and GS Promise
- Read story on using resources wisely
Gabby and Grandma Go Green
When Gabby comes to visit her grandmother, they give their day a green focus, reusing, returning, refilling and recycling.
Notes: Girls especially enjoyed finding the mouse and reading his comments
What are examples of natural resources?
Water, metal, plastic, paper, food, energy, gas
Why do we need to use them wisely?
Because they will run out.
Have some props and then ask for each.
What are some examples of how to reduce, reuse, or recycle this item?
A piece of paper, a book, a outgrown piece of clothing, a bottle.
If you are doing this, what should you do to use resources wisely?
-If you want to go to your friend’s house
-If you have a light on and you are leaving a room
-If you are brushing your teeth
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book
props
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Activity
(20 min)
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Pipe cleaner bird feeder
Have the girls bend pipe cleaners in half and then thread cheerios on the two halves. Adults then help connect the ends. Girls can make whatever shape they would like. Tie a string on the end when they are done. If you have time, you can do two and connect them together.
http://mycrazyblessedlife.com/2012/05/10/after-school-craft-heart-shaped-bird-feeder/
Notes: excellent craft, easy and lots of fun
For those who finish early, we had an simple origami craft using recycled paper
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Bring an example to meeting
Pipe cleaners
Cheerios
Ribbon
scrap paper
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Closing
(5 min)
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Friendship Squeeze
Song
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Email for Girls who missed meeting
Sorry that your daughter missed our last meeting. We worked on the part of our badge for Use Resources Wisely.
So it would be great if you could talk with her about what are resources, why we need to use them wisely, and then give some example of how she can use resources wisely.
Some things we talked about are:
- turning off lights when we are not using them
- not running the water in the sink when brushing our teeth
- borrowing things like from the library instead of buying them.
Then have your daughter do one thing that reduces, reuses, or recycles a resources.
The meeting plan is attached if it is helpful for things to talk about.
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