Lesson: Nature Study in the Forest

Tree taller than the team

Find a tree that is clearly taller than your whole team stacked on top of each other. Take a photo with your team standing at the base and the trunk going up out of the frame.

Three different leaves

Collect three leaves with clearly different shapes (e.g. round, pointy, jagged). Lay them next to each other on the ground and photograph them side by side. Do not pick more than you need.

Bark close-up

Find a tree with interesting bark (rough, smooth, peeling, mossy). Take a close-up photo of the bark so you can see the texture clearly.

Animal sign

Animals leave clues even when you do not see them: a hoofprint in the mud, a chewed pinecone, droppings, a feather. Find one and take a photo. Try to guess what animal left it.

A mushroom or fungus

Find a mushroom or some kind of fungus growing on a log or in the ground. Take a photo, but do not touch or pick it. Some are poisonous.

Bird in sight

Spot a bird (flying, perched, hopping around) and take a photo. It does not have to be perfect; even a tiny bird in a big sky counts.

Insect close-up

Find an insect (ant, beetle, ladybug, anything with six legs) and take the best close-up photo your phone can manage. Hold steady.

Spider web

Find a spider web. Hold your phone at the right angle so the light catches the threads, and take a photo. Bonus if you can spot the spider too.

Life on a log

Find a fallen log or tree stump with something growing on it: moss, ferns, fungi or a tiny new plant. Photograph the patch of life on the dead wood.

Pattern in nature

Look for a natural pattern: spirals in bark, the veins in a leaf, ripples in a puddle, the shape of a pinecone. Photograph the most interesting pattern your team can find.

Forest reflection

Find water (a puddle, stream, pond) and photograph the trees or sky reflected in it. Get low if you have to.

Team forest pose

As a team, hide partly behind a tree, log or bush so half of you are barely visible in the photo. Take the picture from a few steps away. Forest sneak attack pose.

Quiz: Insect legs

How many legs does an insect have?

Answers: 6 / six

Quiz: Tree gas

Trees take in carbon dioxide and give us back another gas that humans need to breathe. What is the name of that gas?

Answers: oxygen / O2 / o2

Quiz: Tree age

If you cut a tree in half, you can count its age. What do you count?

Answers: rings / tree rings / the rings

Team finale: favorite find

Pick the most surprising or coolest thing your team discovered today. Take one final team photo with it (or near it). This is your closing shot of the lesson.