NATURE NOTES WE’RE GOING ON A… SCAVENGER HUNT!

By Amy Wagenfeld, PhD, OTR/L, SCEM, EDAC, FAOTA

Happy September wishes! In honor of the magnificent transition between summer and fall, I thought it would be helpful to talk about more ways to get outside to learn, move, enrich our senses, socialize, and most of all, have fun. How can we achieve all of that? A scavenger hunt! A scavenger hunt invites participants to use their powers of observation to find things inside or outside the home and in community settings.

While the typical way to conduct a scavenger hunt is to give each child or team a written list of items to find, that might not work well for all participants. In this installment of Nature

Notes, my goal is to share ideas for an inclusive scavenger hunt. This is, of course, designed as an outside, nature-based scavenger hunt, but with a twist. So, are you ready to get started?

STEP ONE. Decide where your scavenger hunt will happen. It could be in your yard, on your street, at a nearby park, or schoolyard. It needs to be a safe place your child can comfortably navigate in and that they enjoy.

STEP TWO. Make it whole-body. This means that when preparing a list of items to find, consider movement, thinking, sensation, and teamwork as appropriate for you and your child’s needs. Read on, as I will be sharing a sample scavenger hunt list and how I made it whole-body.

STEP THREE. Think about how you want to present the list. It could be a written list in a font size large enough for children with low vision to be able to read. It could be a list with only the simplest of cues, such as “tree” instead of “pine tree.” The list could contain only picture/image cues. It could contain words and a picture. The list could be written on paper or programmed into a communication system. It could be an audio list. There are many options! Make a list that is doable—not too hard and containing so many items the hunt becomes overwhelming, but a nicely balanced challenge, a little bit of a stretch. No matter how many items your child finds, simply participating is a victory and worthy of great pride and praise.

STEP FOUR. Decide how you want your child to note having found an item. It could be checking it off, marking it with an X, or putting a sticker over the item on the list. It could be an audio recording of what has been found. It could be actually collecting an item and stowing it in a basket or bag. This is the least optimal option as it is best to leave nature alone—to view it, smell it, touch it, and then leave it be. The decisions in Steps Three and Four are yours to make, as you know your child’s needs best. Keeping it fun, engaging, and light-hearted is key.

STEP FIVE. Ready, steady, go! Gather up your participants and head out to your scavenger hunt location. Once there, explain the activity and set a time limit. Again, this is a decision that is left up to you, as you know your child’s abilities and needs best.

STEP SIX. Remember that I said there was a twist to this activity? If you do not have access to nearby safe nature or getting out is just not possible, create a window view scavenger hunt! This variation could include looking for things such as birds, trees, squirrels, and clouds, to name a few. Viewing nature from indoors is a nice alternative to being in it.

STEP SEVEN. When the scavenger hunt ends, encourage your child to create stories about the experience. It could be a story composed of written words, a narrated story, a series of drawings, a video, or some kind of creative 3D art project like clay or sculpture.

As promised, below is a short and sweet sample list of items, and a few ways of finding these items are, in fact, whole-body fun. Be creative and expand the list to include nature items available in your area and tailor the activity to be appropriate for your child’s needs. Enjoy!

As with any nature-based activity, interacting with small objects is not appropriate for children under age three.

SCAVENGER HUNT ITEM —SIMPLE

Tree

Stone

Pinecone

Leaf

Cloud

Flower

Puddle

SCAVENGER HUNT ITEM —COMPLEX

Tree with many branches Pine tree

Smooth stone

Shiny stone

Small pinecone Large pinecone

MOVE

Hug the tree trunk Reach up and “touch” the top branch Squat down and pick up the stone and/or turn the stone over in your hands and move it between your right and left hand Reach up to the pine tree with both hands to touch a pinecone If there are pinecones on the ground, scoop them up and make a pinecone tower on the ground, a tabletop, bench, or chair, or wheelchair tray

THINK

What color is the bark, the leaves? Does it have flowers?

What shape is the stone?

What shape is the pinecone? How many pinecones do you see?

Leaf with pointed edges Heart-shaped leaf

Lacy cloud Puffy cloud

Pink flower Flower with yellow petals

Shallow puddle Puddle on a sidewalk Dance like a leaf waving in the breeze What color is the leaf? How many leaves are there? Are there big and little leaves?

Use your finger to trace the clouds in the sky

Gently pinch the flower petals without pulling any off the stem Bloom like a flower (keep your arms close to your body and then raise them out to the sides and up towards the sky)

Splash in the puddle Toss small stones into a puddle What shapes can you see? Can you see clouds shaped like animals? What color are rain clouds?

Count the petals on a flower—where are they on the plant?

How big is the puddle? Why are there puddles?

SENSE

How does the bark feel? What does the tree smell like?

Is it smooth or rough?

Is the pinecone rough? How does it smell? Can you hold it in your hand without squishing it?

How does a leaf feel when you stroke it with your fingers? Does a leaf have a smell? Can you hear the leaves rustling in the breeze?

What do you think clouds feel like?

What does the flower smell like? Are the petals smooth and silky, or are they sticky?

What sounds do you hear when splashing in the puddle or tossing stones into them?

Amy Wagenfeld, PhD, OTR/L, SCEM, EDAC, FAOTA, is Principal of Amy Wagenfeld | Design and Lecturer in the PostProfessional Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program at Boston University. She is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A&M University and holds evidence-based design accreditation and certification (EDAC) through the Center for Health Design, specialty certification in environmental modifications (SCEM) through the American Occupational Therapy Association, and certification in healthcare garden design through the Chicago Botanical Garden. Amy presents and publishes widely on topics relating access to nature and is co-author of the award-winning book Therapeutic Gardens: Design for Healing Spaces published by Timber Press. When not designing gardens, researching, or developing garden and nature programs, Amy can be found happily digging in the dirt.

Website: www.amywagenfelddesign.com Blog: http://workjournal.org/nurture-through-nature Email: amy@amywagenfelddesign.com