WEBELOS

It is a month for outdoor activity awards.  There are many good ideas here BUT the best idea is to get your Webelos to Webelos Resident Camp (or day camp) and have them earn them there.  CD

FORESTER

OUTDOORS GROUP

JUNIOR FOREST RANGER QUIZ

Circle the correct answer

1)       Campfire permits are required for: (a) indoor fireplaces, (b) outdoor areas, depending on local laws, or (c) lighting Halloween pumpkins.

2)       The safest way to start a campfire is with: (a) a pile of leaves, (b) gasoline, or (c) small pieces of kindling wood.

3)       The best place to ask where forest campfires can be built is: (a) sheriff’s office, (b) sporting goods store, or (c) ranger fire warden station.

4)       When staying overnight in the forest, before going to bed you should: (a) place heavy logs on the fire, (b) put out your campfire, or (c) arrange to get up every 2 hours to check the fire.

5)       When you see a bear in the forest, park, or zoo you should: (a) pull his fur, (b) chase him with a stick, or (c) stay away from him.

6)       To cook properly over a campfire, you should: (a) cook over the flames of a large fire, (b) build a small compact fire and cook over the hot embers, or (c) burn a lot of paper to make the fire hot.

7)       The best way to put out a campfire is: (a) spread out the embers and cool with dirt or water. Mix thoroughly and check for hot spots, (b) cover it with rocks or (c) let it alone and it will burn itself out.

8)       The best spot for a campfire is: (a) inside a rotten log or stump, (b) under a tree, or (c) in a cleared open space away from trees.

9)       For camping or burning trash, the following is the most important and practical tool to carry in a car: (a) shovel, (b) bucket of water, or (c) wet blanket.

10)   If a fire gets out of hand, you should: (a) get your parents and run to your car and drive away, (b) report it immediately to a forest ranger, or (c) get other Junior Forest Rangers to fight the fire.

11)   If your clothes happen to catch on fire you should: (a) keep calm, do not run, roll a blanket around you to smother flames, (b) run for help, or (c) jump up and down real fast.

12)   Camp matches should be: (a) kept in a metal container, (b) stored near outboard motor fuel, or (c) placed in the hot sun.

13)   A person who is careless and starts a forest fire: (a) is made honorary fire chief, (b) receives a fire prevention award, or (c) can be fined and sent to jail

14)   Well managed forests gives us: (a) Smokey Bear, (b) wood, water, wildfire, grass, and outdoor fun, or (c) just lumber, paper, walnuts.

15)   A match or cigarette thrown from a car window: (a) is permissible of no one is look in, (b) is permissible if it looks like it has gone out, or (c) is never safe.

16)   A windy day is a good time: (a) to burn trash, (b) to start a campfire, or (c) not to start a fire.

17)   A trash-burning incinerator should be: (a) equipped with a good spark arrester, (b) placed under a tree for shade, or (c) used only on windy days.

18)   Before lighting an open fire: (a) people should leave the neighborhood, (b) local fire laws should be checked and obeyed, or (c) drink three glasses of water.

19)   Junior Forest Rangers: (a) put out forest fires, (b) start forest fires, or (c) help prevent forest fires.

ANSWERS

1.B, 2.C, 3.C, 4.B, 5.C, 6.B, 7.A, 8.C, 9.A, 10.B, 11.A, 12.A, 13.C, 14.B, 15.C, 16.C, 17.A, 18.B, 19.C

READ A TREE

Find a smooth cut stump or log end and look closely at the pattern of growth rings. There is a layer of wood for each year of growth. Some tree kinds will show light spring wood and dark summer wood in each year’s growth. Count annual rings low on the trunk to find the tree’s approximate age.

Drought years cause occasional narrow growth rings

A leaning tree has rings narrower on one side than the other. A tree on a clearing edge may have similar uneven rings.

NATURE TRAIL

A nature trail is an excellent learning device much better than books- because scouts can see, smell, and touch an object while they learn. Assuming that you will use it just for one weekend, the markers might be simply 3 x 5 cards taped to the object. Ask a leader who is an amateur naturalist or a nature merit badge counselor to choose the objects to be marked along the trail.

It is not necessary to identify every tree, plant and rock in the area. Your primary purpose should be to identify the most common objects of the natural community and to point to other things in the natural world.

For example, you might have a marker where deer have grazed vegetation, where a beaver has been at work, or where lichens have found a toehold in rock. Another might be a fallen rotting tree, which is a feeding and nesting ground for insects and reptiles.

Here are suggestions for writing trail signs. Write them on the spot because desk-written signs are apt to be formal. Here is an example of a good label:

After going over your trail, the Scout should have some knowledge of common trees and plants. Be sure to remove the trail signs at the end of the activity unless it is to become a permanent nature trail.

Arrange could be made with the Council office  to have a day event at one of the Boy Scout Camp available in your area.

TOUCH AND FEEL HIKE

Find a leaf. Is it Hairy or smooth?___________________

Do you know what kind of leaf you found? Name it

____________________________________________

Find a rock. Is it rough or smooth?__________________

Find something dry. Can you explain why it is dry?

____________________________________________

Where did you find your dry item?__________________

____________________________________________

Find something bumpy. What is it?_________________

____________________________________________

Why do you think it is bumpy?____________________

____________________________________________

Find something that is cool to the touch. What did you find?

____________________________________________

Find something that is warm to the touch. What did you find?  

Feel the air around you. Is it warm or cool?____________

What do you like best that you found on your hike?

____________________________________________

NATURE SCAVENGER HUNT

Circle Ten Council

Check off each as you find or complete it.

________Can you find an Ant hill? (Don’t touch it)

________Can you find any wildflowers?

________Find the following insects

q      CRICKET________________

q      GRASSHOPPER___________

q      BEE____________________

q      SPIDER__________________

________Find the following animal homes

q      BIRD NEST_______________

q      COCOON________________

q      SPIDER WEB_____________

________Locate an animal track.

q      What kind of animal do you think it is?          

                ________________________

Find the following trees

q      MESQUITE_______________

(Can you tell this list came from Texas?? Be sure to list trees that grow in your area!! CD)

q      OAK____________________

q      MAPLE_________________

q      TULIP___________________

My personal favorite tree.  It was the emblem of Schiff Scout Reservation, a National Training Center in New Jersey where I took NJLITC in 1963.  CD

_______Find the following colors on a bird

q      BLACK__________________

q      WHITE__________________

q      RED____________________

q      BROWN_________________

q      BLUE___________________

_______Find a butterfly