Habitat Today, Hotel Tomorrow
Habitats are places where
animals live, and habitats provide animals with all of the requirements of life
- food, water, shelter, and reproductive areas.
Unfortunately, many animals are decreasing because habitats are
constantly diminishing on the earth.
Every time humans build something, habitat is either lost or changed
beyond recognition. Therefore less and
less habitat remains to support animal populations and inevitably, some animals
get pushed out.
Start the game by laying out a
large tarp or parachute on the ground and explaining to the group that this
area represents the animals' habitat, basically animals' homes. Instruct all of the campers to spread out on
the tarp, and make sure that the campers are not clustered in one area. After the campers are situated in this
position, explain that half of the habitat will be turned into farmland and
that the animals therefore have to go.
Fold the tarp in half as the campers try to congregate in the new size
habitat. Continue taking away habitat by
building houses, hotels, malls, and so on until the loss of habitat forces some
campers off of the tarp.
Discuss the game with the
campers by asking the campers what happened as more habitat
was taken away from animals. Lead them
to conclude that smaller habitats cannot support the same large populations as
large continuous habitats. Read Job
39.5-8 where God reminds Job that God gives places to wild animals to live as
well as places for humans to live. Lead
the campers in discussing the passage in light of modern habitat destruction.