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Description

Connect with the outdoors by creating a woodland spirit with natural materials.

Resources

Natural materials (for example, leaves, twigs, feathers)


Take it further
While you’re in the forest, try tracking as part of the My Adventure Challenge Award or Our Adventure Challenge Award, or learn more about the woods as part of the Explore Activity Badge or Naturalist Activity Badge. See if there are any local forestry or craft-based groups with woodland knowledge who could help.

Safety: Outdoor activities
You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.

Safety: Gardening and nature
Everyone must wash their hands after the activity has finished. Wear gloves if needed. Explain how to safely use equipment and set clear boundaries so everyone knows what’s allowed.

Instructions

Learning about the 'Green Man' - many years ago, people believed friendly woodland spirits controlled the natural cycle of growth and rebirth in the forest. They were represented by the Green Man, a man made of leaves and greenery


Before you begin
- Locate a suitable outdoor space like a woodland, park, or common where your group can find natural materials to create the face of a woodland spirit. If there aren’t enough materials in the area you plan to visit, start a collection early or ask everyone to bring in easy-to-find items like leaves or grasses.


Get crafty
1. Once everyone’s arrived safely at the outdoor area, they should spend some time quietly looking around, soaking up the sights and sounds.

2. Everyone in the group should chat about where the idea of the Green Man comes from: many years ago, people believed friendly woodland spirits controlled the natural cycle of growth and rebirth in the forest. They were represented by the Green Man, a man made of leaves and greenery.

3. Everyone should separate into pairs and find a place to make their Green Man face, avoiding paths or walkways, where they could be a trip hazard. Making sure no one goes out of sight, encourage the pairs to select adventurous places like tree trunks or hidden grassy areas. Suggest that they use natural features like a root or clump of grass as part of their face.

4. Once each pair’s area is decided, the person leading the activity should send everyone off to collect their materials. Pairs should only use materials they find and not pick or pull live leaves, flowers or twigs.

5. Everyone should stay in their pairs to create their faces using their found materials. Encourage the pairs to work together until they’re both happy with their Green Man face.

6. Once all the faces are ready, everyone should come together to walk around and look at each other’s faces, noticing the differences and maybe taking some photos. Encourage everyone to say what they like about the faces.

7. Leave the Green Man faces for other woodland visitors to discover, before they naturally decay.


Reflection
- In this activity, everyone will learn how people in the past expressed their love of nature. Their stories about woodland spirits showed their wonder at the natural world. Everyone in the group should chat about why people believed woodland spirits existed. Maybe it was the sound of the whistling wind or the wonder of seeing a tree come back to life in spring? Chat about the things people believe in that can’t always been seen in the present day.
- Everyone should talk through the materials they used to make their Green Man faces and why they chose them. Chat about why it’s important not to pick living flowers, leaves and twigs, and what everyone thinks will happen to their faces once they’ve left the woodland. Will the weather or animals like nest-building birds disperse the materials? Well done to everyone for being respectful to the natural world.


Change the level of challenge
Ask pairs if they can identify the leaves they used and why they chose them. Encourage the pairs to add in detailed facial features like eyebrows or dimples.

Tags

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Badge Links

• Adventure - Outdoor activity
• Creative - Craft
• Creative - Imagination
• Naturalist - Activity
• Outdoors - Natural activity
• Skills - Creative