TIGERS

WHERE DOES GARBAGE GO

Circle Ten Council

This one would work well with every level of Cub Scout.  The Bear Achievement, Take Care of Your Planet, came to mind immediately. The visual images are great and last longer with our Cubs.  CD

Before the Den arrives, set up a recycling bin to look like a big garbage can.

Read the book "Where does garbage go?" up through the part about Americans generating 4 lbs. of trash a day. Ask the boys to name the kinds of things they throw away.

Let the boys hold a bag with four pounds of trash in it to see/feel how much trash it contains (4 lbs.). Line seven bags up in a row to show them how much trash one person makes every week (28 lbs.).

Demonstrate what goes into a landfill. Ask the boys to pretend that the bin (recycle bin you disguised earlier) surrounded by a white sheet is a hole in the ground (landfill). More than half of the trash in landfills is paper. Ask a boy to put the paper provided into the landfill. Repeat the procedure with the correct proportions of other landfill trash (glass, metal, plastic, food and yard waste, other).

Read the pages about how many communities now recycle. Why do they recycle? (By recycling, these people cut down on the amount of trash they send to the landfills. By throwing away less trash, the people help to make the Earth a cleaner place.)

Ask the boys to look at the landfill again and name the things in the landfill that cannot be recycled. After taking out "other" and "food and yard waste," remove the sheet and show them that the pretend landfill is really a recycling bin. All of the items remaining in the bin can be recycled.

Show the boys a poster that shows the recycling symbol ("chasing arrow"). Ask the boys if they have seen these symbols before? Where? What do they mean? Explain that the boys and their partner will now work together. They will be recycling detectives and will look for these symbols on different items in their home to determine if the items can be recycled or not. Explain that not ALL of the objects that can be recycled have the symbol on them (like magazines and some cardboard, etc.), but many of the objects do. Looking for the symbol is a very good way to try and figure out if you can put the object out for the recycling truck or take it to a recycling center.  Have them bring their list to the next meeting to share with each other. Have each boy name one thing on their list and continue until all items on each list have been named.

Go See It Outing

Circle Ten Council

ü    Tour a fast food restaurant or small restaurant

ü    Tour an energy conservation home

ü    Tour a Wildflower center and learn about landscaping that will conserve water

ü    Tour Electric plant or company and have them explain ways to save energy

ü    Tour the local Water Company and ask for ways to conserve water.

ü    Tour the Gas Company and ask about ways to conserve during winter months.

ü    Tour the local or county landfill and have them talk about recycling.

This last one was a big hit with our Den when my wife and I were Den Leaders.  CD