Make your schoolyard an animal-friendly zone
Grade Level: K-3
Learning Objectives:
- Recognize that our actions can have an impact on wildlife
- Identify ways to reduce our impact on wildlife
During this activity, students will:
- Reflect on how human-made things effect wildlife
- Brainstorm ways to ensure the needs of wildlife are considered
- Take action by making the school more animal-friendly
Materials
Instructions
- Talk about things that are human-made and things that are natural. For example: playground equipment, garbage can, a fence, a tree, the grass or flowers.
- Select one natural thing and discuss why it is good for animals, and then why it is good for us. For example: Trees are good for animals because they give the birds a place to live. They are good for us because they give us shade so we are cooler in the summer.
Next, talk about why a human-made thing is good for us and why it may or may not be as good for animals. For example: a garbage can is good for us because it keeps trash off the ground. It is not good for animals because if it doesn’t have a lid, animals can eat people food or garbage which will make them sick.
Talk about how we could make it safer for animals? For example, we can make it safer by putting a lid on the garbage can.
- Talk about things we can do to make the whole town/area better for people and animals. Have students decide on one thing that they can do at school to make an animal-friendly zone and implement it.