Leave No Trace Leave No Trace activities are directly tied to the tenth spread - pages 19 and 20 of Our Wetland Project.

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1 Leave No Trace Leave No Trace activities are directly tied to the tenth spread - pages 19 and 20 of Our Wetland Project. e purpose of this lesson is to expose students to responsible backcountry practices stressing Leave No Trace ethics while cultivating a foundation of environmental stewardship through wilderness appreciation. Students will learn how to connect human presence with irresponsible impacts on the environment including, but not limited to, flora, fauna, habitats, etc., and to understand our role in performing preventive actions to protect natural resources. Levels Grades 4-8 Subjects Language Arts, Science, Mathematics Skills Active participating, Examining, Explaining, Formulating, Dramatizing Concepts Connections of science, society, and local landscapes Interactions of living things and environments Local landscapes Objectives: Students will be able to: Assess specific areas for greater or lesser human impacts Identify connections among plants and animals of an ecosystem Describe how human behavior can affect ecosystems Implement proper Leave No Trace skills to reduce impact on a given landscape Properly plan and prepare to have fun and prevent environmental impact simultaneously Time Considerations Preparation - 30 minutes Activity minutes Lesson Overview l Equate! Relate! - A Game of Connections (40 minutes) l Pause for Poetry (30 minutes) l Backcountry Bob - Leave No Trace Role Play (30 minutes) Equate Relate - A Game of Connections Lesson Details - 40 Minutes Materials (20 student class-size) 3 x 5 note cards hole punch 4 yarn - approximately 1 per student (some may have more than one piece of yarn) paper and pencil - 1 each per student 100 thick string symbols, pictures, or words to represent sun, clean water, clean soil, air copy of instructions-scenario cards 48 Leave no trace, walk softly, low impact, tread lightly, leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but pictures. Whatever you want to call it, leave no trace ethics are a critical part of protecting precious outdoor resources. LNT, Inc. or Leave No Trace, Inc. is an organization which works in close cooperation with Bureau of Land Management, National Parks, Forest Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service to create these ethics for protecting the outdoors. Leave No Trace Teaching Leave No Trace

2 Equate! Relate! - A Game of Connections Lesson Details - 40 Minutes (continued) STEP ONE. Before Leave No Trace can be adopted by backcountry users, students often need to form a connection or adopt reasons for caring for the natural world. Before activity, ask students to name some plants and animals they might observe in backcountry or wilderness areas. e student holding the ball of string looks around the circle and finds one other plant or animal that connects with the card they hold. Students describe the connection out loud, hang on to the string and throw the ball to that plant or animal. For example, the woodpecker has the ball of string, hangs onto the string and throws the ball to the aspen tree saying, I need the aspen to provide insects to eat. e aspen tree catches the ball, hangs onto a section of the string with one hand and throws the ball of string with the other hand to the ant saying, e ant needs me in order to find food. e ant catches the ball of string, hangs on to a section of the string and throws the ball to the downed log saying, I need the downed log for a home. Play goes around the circle until everyone is holding onto a section of the string. At no point should anyone let go of the string. In some cases animals and plants will have received the ball of string more than once and therefore are hanging on to more than one section of string. STEP TWO. Time out for discussion. Have the group observe the web of connections they made. Discuss what the web demonstrates about connections in an ecosystem, including the human connection. Discuss how plants, insects, animals, and humans owe their existence to each other. Insects pollinate plants and provide food for small animals; plants provide food and shelter for both animals and humans. Plants also help filter water that is then stored in mountains, streams, lakes, and aquifers. When one member of the web of life is eliminated, other living things are invariably affected. Ask each group member to think about one item from the middle of the room (sun, water, soil, air), and then describe one connection they have to this resource. For example, the frog might say, I need the water in which to lay my eggs. Scenario Cards. Human Impacts on Ecosystems. Have the leader, one other person, or four individuals read one Equate! Relate! Scenario Card at a time to the group. Have the group discuss the question at the end of each scenario. As you discuss each scenario have participants drop their string to show how an impact to one part of the web affects another part. For example, if campers pick all the wildflowers in an area, what else will disappear (mice, coyote)? e persons holding the mice or coyote card would drop their section of string. Equate! Relate! Scenario Card Scenario Campsites A group of people camp on the edge of an untouched meadow because it is easy to watch wildlife. ey stay for many days and leave behind a new rock fire ring, large log benches, and newly worn trails in and around their camp. How might the scene of their abandoned campsite attract more campers to this area? If more campers come, how might their presence affect the meadow s community of life? Answers. People are often attracted to established camp sites. e remains of the fire ring, benches, and trails will encourage more people to camp here. If camping use becomes too heavy, some animals will be driven from the meadow. Note: A large scale example of animal displacement can be seen in cities. How many wild animals like to live near people? e deer might want to drop the string. 49

3 Equate! Relate! - A Game of Connections Lesson Details - 40 Minutes (continued) Scenario Native Plants/Wildflowers ree campers go out for an afternoon hike. ey each return to camp with a handful of native plants/wildflowers to give to their leader. Why should native plants/wildflowers be left in their natural setting? How else might the campers share their love for native plants/wildflowers or their desire to present their leader with a gift? Answers. Native plants/wildflowers should be kept in their natural setting as food for animals, so they can reseed themselves for the next growing season and to allow others the chance to view their beauty. Note: If native plants/wildflowers disappear, animals in the web that depended upon them are in trouble. ey should drop their string. e campers could take their leader to see the flowers or they could make a drawing to give to their leader. Scenario Water You have been hiking all day and stop in a camp site for the night. As you are setting up your tent you notice two tents next to the stream. What could the campers in the two tents do to reduce their intrusion into your primitive outdoor experience? How will these campers affect the animals that use this location at night to get their water? What, if anything, might you say to these campers? Answers. Hiding tents from view allows a sense of solitude. e animals might be too afraid to come down to the river to drink. Also, camping so close to a stream could cause pollution from wash water and human waste entering the river. Note: ose animals that depend upon the stream for drinking water should drop their string. is is a difficult scenario, and this is only one way to address the scenario. How will you answer the questions? Scenario Firewood A leader has asked four young campers to collect wood. e campers use axes to hack at live trees and they also peel tree bark to help start their fire. How might these actions harm the trees? What are alternatives to cooking with fire? What might be some nighttime activities that could replace an evening around the camp fire? Answers. When bark is hacked or peeled from a live tree, the tree is wounded. Wounds expose trees to disease and insects which harm or kill the tree. Note: e web is affected if the tree dies. For example, the woodpecker should drop the string. Campers can cook with light weight stoves rather than campfires, or bring prepared foods. Study the stars; use dark shapes around camp to stimulate story telling; take a moon light hike. Modifications. Go on a nature scavenger hunt and instead of collecting objects, students will be listing ideas of what they have in common with objects found in nature around them. With a pencil and piece of paper, have students divide the sheet into three columns labeled ings in Nature, ings We Have in Common, and How it Helps Me. Let them search, telling them that we are connected to the natural world in numerous ways including air, soil, and sun. When time is up, gather students and have each describe one of their connections. Try to elude to the interconnectedness and dependency all living things have on their environment and world to stay alive. For example, Tree - we both have an outer layer to protect us (back/skin) and a tree gives me oxygen. 50

4 Materials writing supplies for each student pictures of Wetland plants and animals pictures of Invasive plants and organisms Pause for Poetry Lesson Details - 30 Minutes Haiku: a non-rhymed verse genre, conveying an image or feeling in two parts spread over three lines, usually with a seasonal reference. Here s how to create a descriptive, engaging haiku. ere are 5 syllables in the first sentence, 7 in the second, and 5 again in the last sentence. Acrostic: the simplest form is to put the letters that spell your subject down the side of your page. When you have done this then you go back to each letter and think of a word, phrase or sentence that starts with that letter and describes your subject. Concrete: the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme, and so on. It is sometimes referred to as visual poetry; a term that evolved to have distinct meaning of its own, because the words themselves form a picture. is can be called imagery because you use your senses to figure out what the words mean. STEP ONE. Open with a discussion of the Leave No Trace Ethics. Have students write a poem (haiku, acrostic, or concrete) that exemplify the practices of Leave No Trace. Backcountry Bob - Leave No Trace Role Play Lesson Details - 30 Minutes Materials Leave No Trace Cards or list of Leave No Trace Ethics Leave No Trace Ethics. plan ahead and prepare know the regulations and special concerns for the area you ll visit prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies schedule your trip to avoid times of high use visit in small groups when possible, consider splitting larger groups to smaller groups repackage food to minimize waste use a map and compass to eliminate use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging Travel and camp on durable surfaces: established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams good campsites are found, not made, altering a site is not necessary In popular areas concentrate use on existing trails and campsites walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy keep campsites small, focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent In pristine areas disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails avoid places where impacts are just beginning 51

5 Backcountry Bob - LNT Role Play Lesson Details - 30 Minutes (continued) Dispose of Waste Properly pack it in, pack it out, inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter. deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails cover and disguise the cathole when finished pack out toilet paper and hygiene products to wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap - scatter strained dishwater Leave What You Find preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts leave rocks, plants, and other natural objects as you find them avoid introducing or transporting non-native species do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches Minimize Campfire Impacts campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry, use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires keep fires small, only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes Respect Wildlife observe wildlife from a distance, do not follow or approach them never feed animals, feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely control pets at all times, or leave them at home avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter Be Considerate of Other Visitors respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience be courteous, yield to other users on the trail step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors let nature s sounds prevail, avoid loud voices and noises STEP ONE. Share the seven components of the Leave No Trace practice and discuss what they mean. en divide students into seven (7) groups and assign an LNT ethic to each group. Have the groups brainstorm a quick skit to present to the whole group that educates them about that LNT practice. 52