Calling All Nature Lovers
Do you love nature? Do you have a passion for a specific animal,
plant, or ecosystem? Then you should gather like minded kids
around you. Create your own nature club, or join a Roots and
Shoots club near you.
Roots and Shoots is Jane Goodall’s youth program. It is about
making positive change happen—for our community, for
animals and for the environment. With tens of thousands of
young people in almost 100 countries, the Roots & Shoots
network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create
a better world. Young people identify problems in their
communities and take action. Through service projects, youth-
led campaigns and an interactive website, Roots & Shoots
members are making a difference across the globe.
If you cannot find a Roots and Shoots group near you, ask a teacher or other adult to lead anew group. All the information can be found at https://rootsandshoots.org
I led a Roots and Shoots club at the school I taught in for twelve years before I retired. The kids chose amazing projects and made a difference in our community and for animals and the
environment. The kids raised money by making and selling nature items. Here are some ideas that your group may want to make.
Nature Tic-Tac-Toe
Collect 4 twigs, 5 small pinecones, and 5 acorns for each game
Make a tic-tac-toe grid with the twigs.
Take turns using pinecones for x’s and acorn’s for o’s
To make this game to sell, decorate a small muslin bag with permanent markers and
label with ‘NATURE TIC-TAC-TOE’
Propagate plants for a plant sale
Using plant cuttings in jars of water
Cut plant stems near a leaf node.
Place cuttings in jar of water.
Change water once in a while.
Once roots have grown an inch or two,
plant the cuttings in soil.
Try a lot of different plants for cuttings.
Using cut leaves of African violets
Place one leaf stem into soil. Keep the soil moist.
You can use jade leaves, succulents, croton.
Experiment! Find out which leaves grow.