Friend of Nature Honor

Nature Study

Requirements

1. Take part in a nature walk to observe and discover interesting things.

   Answer: With an adult, choose a place with plants and little animals (a park, a trail, or a backyard). 1) Bring a small water bottle and a hat. 2) Walk slowly and look all around. 3) Stop to listen to the sounds, smell the flowers, and watch ants, leaves, and birds. 4) Write down or keep in your memory the cool things you found. — Walking in nature helps the child observe and learn about creation.

2. Tell what you found, using drawings or a comic strip.

   Answer: Get paper and colored pencils. 1) Remember the cool things you saw on the walk. 2) Draw them in little squares, like a comic strip. 3) Write, or ask for help to write, a sentence under each drawing. 4) Show it to your family or to the club. — Drawing what you saw helps you record and share the adventure in nature.

3. Talk about three different kinds of trees and obtain, on paper, small samples of the bark of each one by rubbing with crayon or charcoal.

   Answer: With an adult, find 3 different trees. 1) Observe and say the name (if you know it), the size, and the shape of each one's leaves. 2) Press a sheet of paper against the trunk. 3) Rub over it with a crayon laid on its side or with charcoal, slowly, until the bark's texture appears on the paper. 4) Repeat on all three trees and compare the drawings. — Each tree has a different bark, and the rubbing on the paper shows these textures.

4. Gather four different kinds of leaves and tell what differences and similarities exist between them.

   Answer: Similarities: almost all leaves are green, have veins (little lines), and help the plant breathe and make food using sunlight. Differences: the size (some big, some small), the shape (round, long, jagged), the edge (smooth or toothed), and the shade of green. — Comparing leaves shows that plants have a lot of variety, even when they have similar parts.

5. Explore, with a magnifying glass, an area of 5 square meters or more, located in a park or garden, and make a list of the tiny creatures you find.

   Answer: With an adult, choose a little patch of garden (a square about 2.5 meters on each side — about 5 square meters or more). 1) Use the magnifying glass to look at the soil, the leaves, and the little twigs up close. 2) Look for ants, ladybugs, earthworms, spiders, beetles, and snails. 3) Just observe, without hurting them or moving them. 4) Write down on a list each little creature you find. — The magnifying glass makes things bigger and reveals tiny creatures we can barely see.

6. Visit one of the following places: a zoo, a park, or a botanical garden.

   Answer: With your family or the club, choose a place: a zoo, a park, or a botanical garden. 1) Agree on the day and how you will get there. 2) During the visit, watch the animals and plants with attention and respect. 3) Follow the rules of the place (do not feed the animals, do not step on the flower beds). 4) Keep what you liked most to tell about later. — Visiting these places helps you get to know the living things of creation up close.

7. Write a note or a short letter thanking the people who took you to the place you visited in requirement 6.

   Answer: Get a nice piece of paper. 1) Start with 'Dear...'. 2) Say thank you for taking you on the outing. 3) Tell about one thing you liked seeing the most. 4) Sign with your name and, if you want, make a drawing. 5) Give the little letter to the person. — Saying thank you is a kind and polite way to show love for those who helped us.

8. Explain the following:
   • How to become a friend of nature;
   • How to pick a flower and when this is allowed;
   • How to protect trees, nests, etc....

   Answer: 1) How to be a friend of nature: care for plants and animals, don't throw trash on the ground, don't hurt any living thing, and help keep everything clean. 2) How and when to pick a flower: only pick when you have permission (in your own garden or with an adult's okay); pick just a few, carefully, and never pull flowers from parks or protected forests. 3) How to protect trees and nests: don't cut or wound the trunks, don't climb where you might break branches, don't touch the nests or the eggs, and leave the baby birds in peace with their mother. — Being a friend of nature means caring for it with respect, picking only with permission and protecting life.

9. Grow a plant in a pot or tree-fern slab and make drawings of it at 3 different stages of its development.

   Answer: With an adult, plant a little seed or seedling in a pot (broken piece) or fern fiber. 1) Add good soil and water it with a little water. 2) Keep it in a sunny spot and water it whenever the soil is dry. 3) Draw the plant at 3 moments: when it is just a seed/sprout, when it has grown a bit with leaves, and when it is much bigger. 4) Keep the 3 drawings to show how it grew. — Caring for a plant and drawing its stages shows how it grows little by little.

10. Find a work of God's creation in your region that has been damaged by human carelessness. Investigate how and why this happened, and whether or not the government is taking action about it.

    Answer: With the help of an adult, find something in your city where nature was damaged, like a dirty river, a burned forest, or a park full of trash. 1) Observe and talk to adults to find out what happened there. 2) Ask why it happened (trash thrown away, fire, deforestation). 3) Find out whether the city hall or the government is doing something to fix it. 4) Tell the club what you learned and how we can take better care. — Noticing what carelessness damages helps the child want to care for God's creation.