Woodland faces
You’ll need
- Natural materials (for example, leaves, twigs, feathers)
Before you begin
- Locate a suitable outdoor space like a woodland, park, or common where your group can find natural materials to create the face of a woodland spirit.
Get crafty
- Once everyone’s arrived safely at the outdoor area, they should spend some time quietly looking around, soaking up the sights and sounds.
- Everyone in the group should chat about where the idea of the Green Man comes from: He is related to vegetation deities – gods of nature who represent life, death and rebirth in relation to the growth cycle of plants throughout the year. Specifics about his beginnings and his worship are not fully known. However, he is always known as a kind and benevolent character. Some modern Pagans believe he is connected to our attempt to maintain a spiritual connection to the land and the cycles of nature.
- Everyone should separate into pairs and find a place to make their Green Man face, avoiding paths or walkways, where they could be a trip hazard.
- Once each pair’s area is decided, the person leading the activity should send everyone off to collect their materials.
- Everyone should stay in their pairs to create their faces using their found materials.
- Once all the faces are ready, everyone should come together to walk around and look at each other’s faces, noticing the differences and maybe taking some photos.
- Leave the Green Man faces for other woodland visitors to discover, before they naturally decay.
Reflection
In this activity, everyone will learn how people in the past expressed their love of nature. Their stories about woodland spirits showed their wonder at the natural world. Everyone in the group should chat about why people believed woodland spirits existed. Maybe it was the sound of the whistling wind or the wonder of seeing a tree come back to life in spring? Chat about the things people believe in that can’t always been seen in the present day.
Everyone should talk through the materials they used to make their Green Man faces and why they chose them. Chat about why it’s important not to pick living flowers, leaves and twigs, and what everyone thinks will happen to their faces once they’ve left the woodland. Will the weather or animals like nest-building birds disperse the materials? Well done to everyone for being respectful to the natural world.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Ask pairs if they can identify the leaves they used and why they chose them. Encourage the pairs to add in detailed facial features like eyebrows or dimples.
Picking up materials could be a challenge – so ask helpers to assist with collecting.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
While you’re in the forest, try tracking as part of the My Adventure Challenge Award or Our Adventure Challenge Award, or learn more about the woods as part of the Explore Activity Badge or Naturalist Activity Badge. See if there are any local forestry or craft-based groups with woodland knowledge who could help.