Basic Ecology Progression
These games provide a great
introduction to the general themes of ecological interconnections and the
particular balance of nature.
Who am I? The campers all
have the names of animals or plants or resources (sun, soil, etc) on their
backs and must ask yes/no questions to figure out what they are [1]. This game itself teaches about diversity
within nature. Discuss God's creativity
seen in the diversity of life on the earth.
Web of Life: Place a camper who was the sun in the previous game in the center of a circle [2]. Explain that virtually all energy on the earth comes from the sun, which is then changed into usable energy by plants. Have the sun hold onto the beginning of a long piece of string which is eventually passed around the circle as children answer the question, “Who needs me or who do I need?” That question establishes a link between the two individuals, represented by the string.
Once everyone is holding the
string, you should grab one strand and shake it, and campers should answer if
they feel the motion. Next, remove one
camper from the web and see how it effects the rest of the web. Help campers to realize that even one missing
link in an ecosystem can throw the rest out of balance. Ask campers to share some ideas about how
humans remove or weaken a part of
the ecosystem.
Basic webbing is a pretty good
game, but this more advanced form also doubles as a group building
initiative. Divide your group into
groups of about five people. Have them
form a circle, reach out their hands, and then grab hands of two other people
in the group. Tell all of the groups to get untangled into a circle
which should take very little time in such a small group. Then combine all of the groups together and
have them do the same activity as one large group. Suddenly, the task is much more difficult
because of the increased complexity of the situation. Ask the campers which situation better
reflects nature and what it means that complex ecosystems are so tightly bound
together.
Pyramid: Have everyone choose an animal or plant to represent in the next game [3]. Divide the group among plants (producers),
animals that eat plants (primary consumers) and animals that eat other animals
(secondary consumers). Next, explain
that in nature, all energy has to be harnessed by plants before it can be used
by other organisms. Therefore, plants in
a very important way support the rest of life on earth.
The plants among your group
now have to get about the business of supporting the rest of the
organisms. Help the plants to get down
on hands and knees and prepare for the animals that eat plants to get on top of
them in a hands and knees posture. If
your campers are anything like mine, there will be two plants and about 6
primary consumers and 8 secondary consumers.
The children will quickly realize that the pyramid cannot stand.
Ask campers what they can do
to make the pyramid stand. Gradually, a
pyramid with lots of producers, a few primary consumers, and even fewer
secondary consumers will take shape.
After the campers have carefully gotten off the pyramid, ask them the
following questions: How many plants must there be in relation to animals? Why?
Do secondary consumers occupy a larger or smaller territory than primary
consumers? (larger) Does all the energy
that plants produce make it to the top of the food pyramid? (absolutely not,
because much of it is used for motion, reproduction and other purposes in the
animals which eat it).
Debrief these first three
activities by asking the campers to reflect on the complexity of God's
creation. What does it mean about God
that so many interconnections exist in the natural world? Are humans connected to the world in the same
way? For more advanced campers, read the
creation narratives from Genesis and search for what those texts have to say
about the connections between God and the world and between people and the rest
of creation.
Energy Flow: The principle of energy loss in an ecosystem can be easily demonstrated using a relay game. Divide the group into two teams of equal size, and give each group a bucket which they must fill with water representing energy. However, the only instruments to carry water are a number of smaller buckets with holes in the bottom, representing the energy lost at each step in the food chain. The first team to fill their bucket wins.
Energy is obviously lost at
each link in the chain. Would the
project be easier or more difficult with a longer chain? How many links does a normal food chain have?