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Description

Work with your friends to make a strong and interesting den from natural materials. What will you create? Activity from http://scouts.org.uk

Resources

Access materials to build dens, including branches, twigs, rocks, and other fallen materials.

Instructions

GET READY TO BUILD
The person leading the game should quickly remind everyone of the countryside code (or Outdoor Access Code for Scotland or countryside code NI). Everyone should remember that it’s important to ‘leave no trace’.
Everyone should collect materials to build dens, including branches, twigs, rocks, and other fallen materials. No one should take anything from a living plant. Everyone should stay in sight of the adults who are supervising.
Everyone should help take the materials to one outdoor place.

It’s up to the person leading the activity where this is—it may be part of your meeting place, a local park or field, or even a school playground. It’s helpful if there are even more den building resources nearby such as fallen sticks, branches, or leaves.

BUILD A DEN
Split into groups of about four or five people, and give each group a helper.
It’s up to you whether you choose the teams or whether young people choose their own teams. Make sure no one’s left out.
Each group should talk about what sort of den they’d like to build. This is a great chance to get creative—maybe people would like to build a knight’s castle, a dragon’s cave, an animal’s hideaway, or a team clubhouse. Helpers can help everyone think about their ideas, but the groups should come up with the ideas and make the final decision.
The person leading the activity should tell everyone how far away they’re allowed to go—they should choose an area everyone must stay in so everyone stays safe. Each group should choose a spot within the area to make a den.
Each group should choose their materials from the selection they made earlier.
Each group should have around 20 minutes to build their den.

Each group’s helper should remind them to try things out to check whether their ideas are working or whether they could be improved. If anyone finishes early, they can move on to the next step.
Each group should decide on a name for their den. They should design flags or decorations for their den—perhaps they could make a string of bunting or a flag complete with a bamboo cane flagpole to stick in the ground.
The person leading the activity should check all of the dens for hazards such as falling sticks.

ENJOY YOUR DENS
Each group should sit inside their den. If they’re having drinks and snacks, now would be a great time to enjoy them inside their creation.
Groups should visit each other’s dens to look at their ideas. Everyone’s den will be a bit different, and that’s great.
The person leading the game should take a picture of each group in (or around) their den.
Everyone should reflect on the activity.
Everyone should dismantle their dens, and spread the natural materials back out where they got them from. Although it’s a bit sad to take work apart, it’s important to leave nature as you found it so animals (and other humans) can enjoy it.

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Badge Links

• Adventure - Outdoor activity
• Camp Craft - Pioneering
• Skills - Other
• Teamwork - Challenge