Fly your flag for the planet
You’ll need
- Craft materials (for example, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, stickers)
- Rolls of coloured fabric
- Fabric or felt tip pens
- Fabric scissors
- Fabric glue
Before you begin
- The group should spend some time thinking about a promise they can make to help the planet. The person leading the activity should prompt them to talk about and think of things that matter to them.
- Several members of the group might choose the same promise, but there should be some variety to the discussion. Some questions that they could think about could be:
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- What do you love about nature?
- What could you give back to nature?
- Why is nature important?
Run the activity
1. The person leading the activity should show the group how to cut a strip of fabric to make the flag. Each strip should be about 5cm wide and 50cm long. Everyone should choose their favourite colour fabric from the selection and begin cutting.
2. Everyone should decide on their promise to the planet and write it across their strip of fabric. Write it in a suitable colour to ensure that the message is visible. The group should also decorate the strips of fabric to make them more eye-catching. Each piece of fabric should be large enough and colourful enough to be hung as a flag.
3. The person leading the activity should choose a location for the flags to be fixed. Public features, such as trees, lamp-posts and buildings may need permission, so hanging the flags somewhere on the building or land where you meet will be easier. Try to make sure that the flags are easy for anyone passing by to see, and make sure that the messages can be read from a public road.
This activity helps contribute towards some of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Find out more about the SDGs, and how Scouts across the world are getting involved.
Reflection
The group have made flags to show the world that they care about the planet. What things do the group find most concerning about the natural world, for example extinctions, climate change, rising sea-levels? What new issues have they found out about and what can be done about them?
Each member of the group made a promise to do something good for the natural world. It is important to check back with the group in a few weeks to see if they are keeping that promise. Did they tell any friends or family about their promise? Have they managed to inspire anyone else to help?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Scissors
Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
- Glue and solvents
Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.
- Outdoor activities
You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.
Challenge creative members of the group to experiment with their flag designs. Multiple strips of the different coloured fabrics being stuck together with glue could be used to make them stand out even more. Younger members of the group may find it easier to print or paint on their flags, as writing on fabric can be difficult.
You could choose to use safe recycled fabrics, such as old bedding or clothes, to make this activity more sustainable too.
Take care when choosing fabrics and other materials to ensure that they are safe and easy for everyone to use and handle. You could make sure you have left-handed fabric scissors too.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
Host a community day and ask local people to hang their own flags with those made by the group, or outside their own local buildings too. This should help to spread awareness about the causes that the group are concerned about.
Discover more at https://www.wwf.org.uk/
The group should be encouraged to make flags to support causes that matter to them.