How to teach Envorment safety and clean water to girl @ camp ?

[lizzy12]

At, Camp this yr I will be a YCL.

I am in charge of teaching the girls

-How to clean water, find safe water and purify water,

-How to keep the environment clean, safe. What we can do to improve the enviorment.

I am teaching 3rd years who are ages 13/14.

8th grade-freshman yr.

Any ideas on how i can teach this creatively ?

The camp manual says-

" Learn one way to help preserve and protect the environment in your area. Use what you learn to make an improvement in your area."

The other says "Learn what you would do if the water in your camp was unsafe to drink. Describe how you would make it safe. If there is a stream, lake, or ocean near your camp site survey the area and report any sources of pollution. Where possible, correct these problems. "

My camp has cabins, a lake with sea weed and lots of trials.

Any ideas ?

I want it to be creative and memorable.

[marshac]

In terms of water safety, it depends on where you are, and what resources you have available. At home (or campsite), one could easily filter water with anything handy to remove chunks, silt, etc, and then boil it to kill off any pathogens. Another option is the same procedure, but using chlorine (not that 'color safe' stuff) bleach. Commercial water filters are always an option, and anything I would personally want to use should filter down to 0.2 microns- larger than that and you risk 'missing' stuff.

My personal favorite is the solar still- it will work pretty much anywhere there is sunlight (and above freezing temps). Basically you dig a hole in the ground about 1.5' across and maybe 8" or so deep, then you place a collection container in the very center of the hole. Around the collection container you can place plant material, salt water, pretty much anything that has moisture. On top of the hole you place a sheet of plastic, with a rock in the middle- this forms an inverted cone. As the sun heats up the still, the water evaporates and condenses on the plastic- the inverted cone shape channels the water droplets downhill to the middle where they drop into the collection container. Obviously this method takes time to work, so more than one still is needed.

Edit: I found a pic of a solar still- imagine a hole instead of a large beaker however-

[lizzy12]

I only have about 30 mins to teach both

[MarginOfError]

For water filtration, these are my first two options (at least when I'm camping)

Katadyn Hiker MicroFilter, 55812 | Filtration & Purification | Water Filtration | GEAR | items from Campmor.

Polar Pure, 81320 | Filtration & Purification | Water Filtration | GEAR | items from Campmor.

For protecting the environment, here are some tips

• stay on trails. Going off of marked trails adds to wear and erosion on the envrionment.
• walk through puddles, not around. Puddles on trails are usually caused by depressions where people walk. If you walk around them, you increase the size of the depression and then the size of the puddle.
• Biodegradable is good, but reusable is better
• don't throw your food scraps into the woods. Either eat it all or scrape it into the garbage.

[lizzy12]

thanks ! Any other ideas are welcome.

[rayhale]

Since you only will have 30 minutes, just tell the girls to boil the water, then to pick up litter wherever they see it, tell them that litter not only looks bad, and stays there FOREVER, but can, and is, harmful to animals. For instance the plastic rings for a six pack of soda, can be deadly for birds trying to eat them.

[che1sea]

I am teaching the same thing for certification next week. (The water safety, not the environment one). What did you end up doing?

[JudoMinja]

This is a great link for info on water purification- HERE. It is specifically targeted to purification techniques that can be used in the "wilderness". The solar still marshac mentioned is also a really fun one. If you have more time to spend on it though, and your girls aren't too squeamish about bugs, they might find it fun to do this- Macroinvertebrate Sampling.

[mightynancy]

My daughter is too young to go to yw camp, but she will love to try that macroinvertebrate sampling. Thanks, JudoMinja!

[lizzy16]

Just an update:

This was taught very sucesfully by me about a year ago lol.

This year I'm teaching first aid :)

[mightynancy]

LOL!

I taught fire my first year at camp as an adult. My Boy Scout son had a GRAND time teaching me in preparation for my assignment (I'm not a camper usually).

First aid is fun! Plenty of scope for dramatic effects.