Using your sensesBeing in the bush is very exciting – but why? What makes it different from sitting in your lounge room or being in a shop? It’s the things we experience that makes being in the bush different from any other situation.

We experience things with our senses. Nowhere else can our senses pick up those particular sights, sounds, smells and feelings than in the Australian bush.

SIGHT – All around us the beautiful gum trees, the colours, the dappled light coming through the trees, parrot feathers on the ground, birds hopping through the trees and grasses.

SOUND – Close your eyes and listen. You can hear unmistakable Australian bush sounds … kookaburras, magpies, creatures crawling through the dead leaves on the ground, the wind in the trees.

SMELL – Crush the leaves of several different types of plants and compare the smell.

TOUCH – Touch the trees – some are smooth, some rough, leaves are crinkly or silky. Grass is soft or hard, some so sharp it can cut your hands.

TOUCH – Some insects and creepy crawlies give painful stings or bites. Encourage the Joey Scouts not to touch unless they have checked if they are harmless.

Blind walk

Talk about how we use our sense of sight more than the other senses. Animals use other senses – eg, smell, hearing. Blind people fine tune other senses to compensate. Discuss different senses.Have Joey Scouts close their eyes and be silent for 30 seconds. What do they hear? Which direction was it from? How far away? Artificial or natural?In pairs have one partner blindfolded – teach them to trust partner, have partner carefully lead them along a trail suggesting they feel bark, grass, cones, etc. along the way. NB Instruct sighted partner to be very aware of obstacles and to keenly describe how partner should avoid them.□ Variation – set a rope (tied to trees, poles)

course, varying height. Joey Scouts follow course touching rope with one hand and feeling with the other.

Bat and the mothSome “Batty facts” to use as a background for this game:□ Are bats blind? No but some are short

sighted.□ At dusk great flocks of bats fly away to

feed.□ As a bat flies it sends out a high-pitched

sound which is reflected as it strikes nearby objects. The bat’s ears are so sensitive that they are able to pick up these echoes and so it is able to avoid colliding with objects in its path.

□ As a bat flies it has its mouth open and swallows large numbers of moths and mosquitoes. Some moths are able to escape being eaten by giving out sounds that jam the bat’s signal.

One person is a bat with a blindfold and a shaker. Another is a moth with a blindfold and a shaker. Bat and moth go inside circle of Joey Scouts standing around to protect the bat and moth from going too far. The bat shakes shaker and moth returns shake (to represent echo location or the way bats see). Once bat touches moth, new Joey Scouts represent bat and moth.

Scavenger huntExplain to the Joey Scouts that they must not pick anything from the trees but that all they find must be laying on the ground. Joey Scouts could be given a small plastic bag into which to put their “finds”. They can work in small groups and must stay together. Do not pick up anything live. Use their imagination.1. 2 different shaped leaves2. piece of bark3. a seed pot4. a chewed leaf5. a feather6. something soft7. a stick in the shape of a letter of the alphabet8. a pebble9. 2 pieces of rubbish10. 3 nuts – different types.

Nature’s coloursJoey Scouts sit quietly in a wooded area and look around them. One Joey Scout mentions something they can see in nature and states its colour, eg, brown leaf. Next Joey Scout mentions another article of a different colour and type, eg, blue sky. Play continues with different objects and colours. If an object is mentioned a second time it must have a different colour, eg, green leaf.

Tom Thumb detectivesDraw a circle about a metre in diameter on the ground. Joey Scouts stay quietly outside the circle and, in a given time, look to see how many living things they can see within the circle.

Thumbprint sketchesYou will need an ink pad, paper and lots of imagination. Press the thumb onto the ink pad and then onto a sheet of paper – from these use your imagination to create lots of different insects and creatures: beetles, snakes head; bird; ants (need two prints close together).

Bilbies and hawksThis activity is more suitable for the older members of the Mob. Ask Joey Scouts if there were two animals – bilbies and hawks – which would have the greater numbers. They discuss and learn there must be more bilbies to feed the hawks. Make one quarter of the group hawks; the rest are bilbies. They each form a line. Bilbies must run past hawks, while each hawk catches a bilby for dinner. Any bilby caught dies and becomes earth, then joins the hawk population. Play two or three times to demonstrate food pyramid – many plants are needed to feed plant eaters, more of those are needed to feed meat eaters.

Bush safetyBefore1. Know where you are going and have checked

out the venue2. Wear suitable clothing especially hat and

shoes3. Take water4. Take a small first aid kit5. Maintain correct ratio of Adults/Youth Members

and ensure paper work is completed. Tell the Group Leader where you are going.

During1. Have a Leader in front and at rear of Joey

Scouts2. Consider the physical capabilities of each Joey

Scout3. Rest periods start when the last person arrives

not the first4. Carry out First Aid, eg, blisters, scratches, etc.

when they occur5. Use the buddy system and check numbers

regularly6. Be alert regarding effects of the weather – heat

exhaustion or effects of the cold7. Do not litter.

After1. Check numbers2. Check for ticks3. Finalise any outstanding First Aid4. Rest period5. Dispose of food scraps, tins, plastic bottles and

bags properly. Leave only the silence.6. Be punctual.

Hints on walking in the bush☼ Branch Lash - There should be sufficient

distance between each person to prevent “branch lash” and to stop the Joey Scout seeing only the feet of the person in front.

☼ Logs – Any log across the track, provided it is not slippery or covered with moss, should be stepped onto and down, not over (caution snakes).

☼ When lifting stones, large branches or building materials always lift away from you. Remember wild life, especially snakes, do not like being disturbed.

☼ Creek Crossing – When crossing a creek using stepping stones ensure that the stones are firm.

☼ Running – Running at day or night should not be allowed – maintain a slow pace by keeping their interest in the surroundings.

☼ Running with sticks held in the hand is a definite ‘no-no’!

☼ Be aware of bladey grass – it cuts deep.

TrailsGetting from point A to point B can be an interesting exercise or just plain boring. How can we make it interesting? Instead of just “following

the leader” in a straight line, how about laying a trail?At Joey Scout age it is advisable to avoid the compass trails, follow the arrow (it is really a little more complicated than that as there are other signed involved); or the bent grass/twigs trail. How then can you do it? Simple.

Follow the footstepsLeader sets out trails using large cut out footprints of different birds or animals, eg, kangaroo, emu, etc. Joey Scouts are in small groups (with an adult) and each group is given a different set of prints to follow.Hints: Have same number of footprints for each group. Trails need not be parallel but should end where you want your next activity to commence. Pick up footprints as you progress.

Coloured woolFollow a trail of bits of coloured wool tied to grass or trees. As a variation use small pieces of coloured paper.

Blindfold trailsSee notes in Blind Walk.

Jigsaw trailsCut a fairly large picture (calendars are a good source) into 9 or 10 large jigsaw pieces and use them to lay a trail. Joey Scouts have to pick up the pieces of the jigsaw as they go and at the end complete the puzzle. Could have several trails leading in different directions.

StoriesWalking storyJoey Scouts sit in a circle, with one in the middle. Some have been given slips of paper with key words written on them (each word is repeated three or four times). The storyteller walks around outside the circle, telling a story, and when a key word is mentioned all those with that word must get up, run around the circle and back to their place. However, the person in the middle also joins in and the one who misses out on finding a place goes to the centre. When a certain word is mentioned, eg, “wind” in the story, all the Joey Scouts must get up and run round the circle and try to get back to their place before it is taken by the person from the centre.Any simple story can be used such as:We were walking in the bush looking at the beautiful yellow flowers on the wattle trees, when down fluttered a gum leaf. A sound was heard and looking down we saw a snake slithering out from beneath a heap of banksia leaves. The silky oak leaves were moving in the wind.On the word “wind” all Joey Scouts must get up and run around the circle.

Action storyRemember the campfire item called the “Bear Hunt”? This type of activity could be adapted and a story written for the bush. Think about it – the sound of the wind; sounds of leaves rustling; of kookaburras laughing; walking on twigs or dried leaves under the tree. The possibilities are extensive.

Smells of the bush – a craft idea

Materials: cardboard tube (similar to a toilet roll), handkerchief, blue, ribbon, eucalyptus oil.Roll the cardboard tube in the handkerchief, Christmas cracker style, and glue in place. Tie off ends with ribbon. Add some eucalyptus oil (be generous). Then add a message printed on a leaf shaped piece of card or the tube could be filled with pot pourri.

WORD SEARCH W I N D D E E W

Find these words in the puzzle:

BUSH BRANCH BEE NOTECAMP ANTCLIFF CREEKHAT HIKELEAF LAKEGRASS ROCK SKY WALKWIND WEEDTREE

P M A C L I F F

H A T B I T E A

I W G R K A T E

K A R A C N R L

E L A N O T E A

Y K S C R E E K

B U S H K B E E

A N D I H C E U F K WORD SEARCH

U G D A Y L F M U A

These words are hidden in the puzzle:

AUSTRALIA DIDGERIDOOROO KANGAROO FUNNELWEB EMU ECHIDNA PLATYPUS MATE WOMBAT JOEY FLY DINGO G’DAY ANT TOADDEVIL SUN KOALA COOEE

S U P Y K A L P N N

T M F L Y E T I N G

R E L D E T A L E A

A N T I O A B I L R

L U T N J M M V W O

I S O G C O O E E O

A L A O K L W D B R

D I D G E R I D O O

Bush Magic appeared in the October 1998 issue Australian Scout. Compiled by Enid Cole; contributors were Enid Cole, Leonie Burdon, Gay Ahmed, Jenny McKelliget, Donna Smith, Donna Jensen, Allan Burchill, Joan Burchill Illustrations by Michael O’Neill and Enid Cole.