Park Patrol – Explorer: Skill Level One

EXPLORER – Skill Level: One

Activity:

Park Survey

Objective: Recognition and experience of different types of parks
Science Skills: Observe, Collect, Measure, and Evaluate Data
Life Skills: Teamwork, Cooperation

Preparation Activities:

It is a good idea to have a discussion about the park before you visit. Where is it? What is it called? Who takes care of the park: city, county, state? What do they expect from just hearing the name of the park or looking at the park location on a map? Who do they expect to be there? What activities, both human and natural, can occur there? Are there any features that are promoted as unique to this park? This will allow them to compare their expectations before their visit to what they experienced during their visit.

Contact the Extension Office to get “Park Passport Stickers”

What You Will Need:

– Junior Park Passport Booklet  or  Intermediate Park Passport Booklet
– Clipboards (or something to write on)
– Pencils (or something to write with)
– GPS Receivers (optional)

Activity:
Ask the youth to go out and take a survey of the park. The survey includes questions about the natural habitat, the parks function for social uses, and if the park is being properly maintained.

Vocabulary:
parks, recreation, preserve, resource, jurisdiction, maintenance, habitat, ecology, social benefit

Asking the Right Questions:
You might want to ask younger members :
What they notice about the size of the park: big, little, medium…
What sounds they hear: birds, waterfalls, cars…
What they see: streams, playgrounds, picnic areas, places to play sports…
What they feel: is the ground wet or dry? Grassy or mossy?
What they smell: saltwater, hay…

After they have had time to fill out the survey ask them “so what”, so what does that means, so why is it important. Use these questions to start a small discussion.