Wildlife diary
You’ll need
- Coloured pens or pencils
- A4 paper
- Camera or phone
Before you begin
- People often choose to do this sort of activity at home. It’s still useful to chat together, though, to make sure everyone understands and is ready to start recording.
- It’s up to people how they record what they find. An animal diary is great as it’ll help them remember what they did, and it’s really useful to show other people what they found too.
Dear diary
- Everyone should think of ways people might create a diary or journal. They could think about taking photos, writing things down, drawing, making a collage, or even recording or videoing themselves talking (and the sounds around them too).
- The person leading the activity should help everyone to think of some places they visit often that are outside, natural, and with wildlife. People might think about gardens, parks, river areas, nature reserves, countryside footpaths, and even their school field.
- Everyone should choose a natural area to visit. They’ll need to be able to go back there for three months, so it’s a good idea to choose somewhere nearby, and there needs to be wildlife there too.
- The person leading the activity should make sure everyone understands that their parent or carer should agree before they visit anywhere. The person leading the activity should make sure the parents and carers understand the activity and what everyone needs to do.
- Everyone should think about how they’d like to keep a record of their visits. The person leading the activity may help everyone to spend time making a diary, a scrapbook template, or even a customised notebook (but they don’t have to – it’s up to them).
Discover at home
- Agree when and where you’ll go with your parent or carer.
- Gather the things you need to record your findings in your wildlife diary.It depends on what you want to do – you may need some pencils, paper, a scrapbook, or even a camera or smartphone. What else might you need? Maybe suncream, a sunhat, a water bottle, a snack, or your gloves?
- Dress for the weather and make sure the adult you’re taking with you is dressed sensibly too. It’s a good idea to check the weather forecast so you’re not surprised.
- If this isn’t your first visit, look back at your record from the visit before to remind yourself what it was like. This will make it easier to compare this time.
- Think about what you can see – don’t forget to look up high and down low. Use your hearing too; you might be able to hear things that are hiding.
- Record what the weather’s like. Do you think it makes a difference to the wildlife you can see?
- Write or draw (or take photos of) the wildlife you spot. Think about their features, too. Are they birds, insects, or other animals? What did they look like – think about colours, patterns, and textures. What were they doing?
- Think about how things have changed since last time, and note it down.
- Remember, you need to keep visiting for three months. Chat to the person leading the activity if you’re not sure how often to visit or how long each visit should last.
Reflection
People probably noticed some changes to the wildlife over three months – they might want to share discoveries about which animals they saw, how big they were, or what they were doing. What other changes did people notice? There might have been changes to buildings, the number of other visitors, or the amount of litter. How did these other changes affect the area? Everyone should take a moment to think about the changes and the difference they made – was it positive or negative? Everyone should share how they feel about these changes; perhaps they could think of a way that they could 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.
- Animals and insects
Be aware of the risks before interacting with animals. Be aware of anyone with allergies, and make alternative arrangements for them.
- Gardening and nature
Everyone must wash their hands after the activity has finished. Wear gloves if needed. Explain how to safely use equipment and set clear boundaries so everyone knows what’s allowed.
- Phones and cameras
Make sure parents and carers are aware and have given consent for photography.
- Near water
Manage groups carefully when near water. The guidance on activities near water will help you to keep your group safe.
The natural place doesn’t have to be far from home – a garden (if people have one) or a local outdoor area is fine. No one has to write, either. It’s fine if people would rather use photos, drawings, audio or video recordings.
Have a chat with everyone about how often they should visit their place, and how long each visit should last. This probably won’t be the same for everyone – everyone should feel challenged (but not overwhelmed), so be flexible and make it work for each individual.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
People will probably get to know their areas pretty well in three months, so they’ll be in a great position to think about what people could do to help the area. Perhaps there’s too much litter that needs picking up, some broken things (for example, benches) that need fix-ing, or some wildlife (for example, hedgehogs) in need of shelter.
It’s up to each young person where they want to go to observe wildlife, and it’s their choice how they want to record their adventures too.