Park Protectors!
Introduction (5 mins):
"Isn't it fun to visit a park or play outside in nature? Parks are special places that everyone in our community gets to share, like a big playground for people and animals! What do you like about the park? (Listen to answers). To keep our parks beautiful and safe for everyone – people, plants, and animals – we all need to be 'Park Protectors'! Being a Park Protector is like being a really good helper, or a good citizen, for our nature community. Good citizens follow rules and help take care of shared places."
Activity: Park Walk & Helper Hunt (15-20 mins):
"Let's go be Park Protectors! We can visit a real park, our backyard, or even pretend indoors. As we explore, let's use our eagle eyes (and maybe a magnifying glass!) to look around."
- Observe: "What do you see? Plants? Animals? People? What makes this place nice?"
- Rule Talk: "Parks have rules to keep everyone safe and the park healthy. Can you think of one? (Guide: Staying on paths protects tiny plants, not picking flowers lets everyone enjoy them, putting trash in bins keeps it clean). Let's look at these picture cards. Thumbs up if this picture shows being a good Park Protector, thumbs down if it's not helpful." (Go through picture cards).
- Helper Action: (Optional, adapt to location) "Look! Do we see any litter that shouldn't be here? If it's safe, let's put on our gloves and carefully put it in our trash bag. We're helping keep the park clean!" OR "Let's make sure we stay on the path to protect the grass and tiny bugs."
Conclusion (5 mins):
"Wow, you were amazing Park Protectors today! We learned that parks are shared community spaces and we talked about rules that help keep them nice. What was one helpful thing we did or talked about doing today? (e.g., Picking up trash, staying on the path, knowing not to pick flowers). When we help take care of our park, we are being great citizens for our nature community!" (Optional: Award 'Park Protector' badge/sticker).