There are activities carried out with the purpose of entertainment, some of them are educational, mixing fun with knowledge and allowing teaching through practice. In the following article we will learn a little more about the Ecological Games applied to all ages, with the main objective of environmental awareness.
Eco Games
The continuous destruction of the environment and the over-exploitation of resources has caused the slow deterioration of the planet earth, this fact has motivated man to develop different methods that establish awareness for natural conservation, coming to propose terms of studies focused on the reduction of environmental pollution, emphasizing in this case ecology.
Ecology being a branch of biology focused on studying the relationships between the environment and living beings, over time this term has been used for the production of products with sustainable, ethical and environmentally friendly purposes. This type of product seeks to comply with regulations for the care and protection of the natural environment.
In this sense, we have ecological clothing made from fabrics that come from sustainable purposes and avoiding the use of artificial articles (pesticides or some other chemical product) that alter their properties. It also refers to organic foods, those from crops that carry out respectful practices with the environment, not using chemicals that alter their genetic properties.
The ecological games represent activities that allow the development of knowledge about the natural environment through good environmental practices. It deals with playful activities that stimulate awareness of the functioning of the planet earth; These types of games are intended to enrich human knowledge and at the same time learn about current environmental problems.
These games collaborate in putting into practice actions that curb environmental problems, promoting the practice of recycling, energy saving, cleaning green areas, among others. As activities can be applied to children, youth and adults, because they aim to respect the environment.
Games to Learn and Discover
The games are classified according to the theme they wish to highlight and their main objective, in this case activities focused on learning and discovering general environmental conditions will be presented:
The ecosystem
It is a game where each of the participants must choose to be a living being (deer, bear, bird, among others) or inert (lake, mountain, flower, sun, among others). Then the players must be given a ball of wool or wick, being chained to the elements that are in the environment without being released, crossing each other until they form a network or a spider web, in this way the participants They will be connected by the thread.
Once all the participants are connected, they will begin to ask questions about the importance of maintaining the natural elements that make up an ecosystem; as the questions and answers unfold, they should be moved by moving the thread (up and down), observing how all the members will also move; In this way, it will be demonstrated how the circumstances that influence one of them can affect the rest. The importance of this game is to demonstrate the interrelation of the elements that make up an ecosystem.
The detective
It is a game developed preferably for children, where they are given a margin of time to investigate some issue raised, for example, Treatment of garbage? Animal communication? Species that inhabit a specific area?, among other topics.
The main objective is to arouse the interest of the little ones until they reach their own conclusions on the topic raised; then each one will show their theories that will be corrected by the person in charge of the activity, presenting videos and tools that are corroborated with reality. This type of activity must be developed dynamically to avoid boredom in children and the monotony of the game.
Games to Take Care of the Environment
The second classification of ecological games are those that try to create awareness about the environment that surrounds us and the environment, some of them are described below:
pick up garbage
It is a type of game focused on competition, where teams will be established according to the number of participants present and taking into account the natural space. This last factor is very important, since it is recommended to select an area affected by human contamination, for example green areas with food containers scattered around them or accumulation of plastics on the shores of beaches.
Each of the teams will be given a garbage bag and other useful utensils (gloves and brushes) to collect the waste. They will be given a time limit so that each team can collect the most garbage, the winning team will be the one with the most garbage collected.
Recycled Crafts
Crafts are those works made by hand using various materials normally considered as waste, in this case those that use already discarded elements stand out, for example, handbags with newspaper, using thread, sewing needle and glue; one of the most made are the pencil holders, made with plastic containers, used soda cans; items for decoration at Christmas time, among other products.
Through this type of game, the participants will learn about the double use that some objects have, arousing interest in all the materials that are wasted in their homes and may have another use.
Games to Aware and Educate
Another type of classification that ecological games have are those to raise awareness and educate on environmental issues, highlighting some of them below:
toxic water
It is a game of chase and catch, it consists of two teams, one as contaminated water players and the other as clean water players; One of the contaminated water participants must chase the other team until they are captured, shake hands and make them part of the opposing team. This game explains the ability of toxic substances to spread and affect the environment, mainly elements such as water.
Deforestation
In this game, one of the participants will play the role of a forest ranger, three others will be lumberjacks, and the rest of the players will be trees. The game begins when the lumberjacks begin to chase the trees until they touch them, each touched participant will be felled and will have to take a seat; at the same time, the forest ranger must touch all the felled trees so that they grow back, needing at least three touches to get up again; at the first touch they will squat, the second on their knees, and the third can already stand up to enter the game. This activity tries to raise awareness about the effects of uncontrolled felling of trees today.
Most Popular Ecological Games
Currently, ecological games have gained great popularity mainly for children, being applied in camping seasons, vacations, walks, trips and school activities; Always with the purpose of promoting environmental awareness, let us know below some of the most popular games:
Recycle Paper
To make recycled paper, the necessary materials are water, a mixer, a wooden frame, magazines, cotton cloth and paper (various textures). The procedure will be to cut the paper into small pieces and leave to soak for one or two hours, until a paste is formed; in case of using hot water it can take time to undo the paper. It is necessary to change the water regularly, where it is stained with the ink of the paper; then the paste should be crushed with the blender until a homogeneous mass is obtained and placed in a container. If it is too thick, very similar to cardboard, it is advisable to add water.
Once the pasta is ready, you should add a cotton cloth known as a basin and wait until it covers all the pasta. The fabric should be removed from the solution and allowed to dry little by little, placing the books on top until it is completely smooth and in this way colored paper can be obtained without the need to apply dyes or other chemicals.
water detective
It is a type of game to be applied at home, where the little ones can investigate the taps and water faucets that are in the home. The procedure tries to place a container under them to see how many drops they lose and calculate how many would be saved in the year if those pipes were fixed. This type of activity is known as the home investigator, it can also be a school activity and a friend's house.
Make Compost
It is a game used for the planting and cultivation of some vegetables, its preparation is quite simple, the necessary materials are a large box, garbage bags, plant material, soil and vegetable waste. Start by taking the box and lining it completely (inside and out) with the garbage bags, it is necessary to make some holes to facilitate ventilation and add all the waste material inside.
Recycled Imagination
Some restaurants use polystyrene containers as utensils, discarding them and generating a large amount of garbage. The purpose of this ecological game is to give them a new use, preparing seedlings in your garden or applying them as pots for small plants, some people use it to store small objects or as a basket for other non-perishable foods.
Solar Cards
Solar cards is a method used to make children aware of renewable and non-polluting energies, explaining the importance of the sun when building birthday greetings, with a very striking colored cardboard, being folded in half and adding on her objects such as flowers, fabric bows, letter cutouts, drawings that have been made with paper. Place it in the sun during the day and at nightfall remove all the paper objects, this act will cause the cardboard to stain by the action of the sun's rays, leaving the silhouette of the placed figures.
Recycling Inspector
Recycling aims to reuse a product or raw material for another use, being a widely used topic worldwide, however it is not always so easy to know all the principles about them. Through this game, children are taught where each waste should be placed according to the type of material that corresponds, in case of making a mistake when carrying it out, a penance will be established for the child.
What disgusting contamination!
Pollution is currently present in any space, it can be seen as the smog that covers the entire city and generates many diseases. In this case it is a visual experiment, the child must be aware of the effects of pollution, therefore, the child must make a drawing and be colored respectively, then place bottle caps on it and leave it outdoors for several days (protected from sun and rain). Finally, when the plugs are removed, it will be observed that the covered areas maintain their color intact while the uncovered areas have acquired a grayish color.
Biodegradable materials
There are materials that are harmless to the environment such as banana peel or apple peel, but there are other harmful and polluting ones such as napkins or plastics. In this game, the child is expected to understand what materials can be thrown in the garbage and which can be biodegradable. It consists of taking two empty yogurt containers (list each), add moist soil in them and bury a piece of plastic in the first and in the other a leaf from a tree. Keep it at rest for two weeks and ensuring that the soil is always moist; Over time, it will be seen that the leaf decomposed and became part of the soil while the plastic remains intact.
We hope this article has been helpful, we leave you others that will surely interest you:
Measures to Avoid Atmospheric Pollution
Difference Between Ecology and Environment
Advantages and Disadvantages of Sustainable Development