Day Time Hikes

[DaMig]

I am a CC that has taken on the job of getting the Tiger Den started. For the 1st "Go See It" I will be leading a nature hike. I love the outdoors and have knowledge of some trees & plants, but want to involve the boys and make the hike interesting for them.

Does anyone have ideas? My son did not start at the Tiger level and has not been on a nature hike with the Scouts. What needs to be included? Thanks!

[Mr. Bob]

For our hike we finished it with a leaf rubbing. So we had a contest for who could find the most unique leaves, biggest leaf, smallest leaf, etc... It was fun and the boys really got into it...

Mr. Bob

[Nuts4Scouts]

If you are having the boys pick leaves on your hike you should be very careful. Make sure that they only take leaves that are not attached to trees. You also need to make sure they stay on the trail & if you hike in a area with poison oak or sumac make sure you know what an individual leaf looks like. Since the leaf might not be attached in "leaves of 3" anymore, you must be very sure the boys know what they are touching.

You could contact your local forest preserve, nature center, park district or state park, many will have programs set up for scouts.

You could have them do bark rubbings as they hike instead of leaf rubbings & then at the end of the hike try to figure out what kind of tree it was.

Do theme hikes. Color - Alphabet - House - Animal Signs - Babies - Bug - Litter Pick Up - Seed - Sounds - Smells - Tracks - Animal - Blind - Shapes - Rain

[CommissionerTim]

If you are having the boys pick leaves on your hike you should be very careful. Make sure that they only take leaves that are not attached to trees. You also need to make sure they stay on the trail & if you hike in a area with poison oak or sumac make sure you know what an individual leaf looks like. Since the leaf might not be attached in "leaves of 3" anymore, you must be very sure the boys know what they are touching.

You could contact your local forest preserve, nature center, park district or state park, many will have programs set up for scouts.

You could have them do bark rubbings as they hike instead of leaf rubbings & then at the end of the hike try to figure out what kind of tree it was.

Do theme hikes. Color - Alphabet - House - Animal Signs - Babies - Bug - Litter Pick Up - Seed - Sounds - Smells - Tracks - Animal - Blind - Shapes - Rain

Those are great suggestions... I my unit has found that going to a state park was the easiest, because they do most of the work for us leaders. Another "Go See It" that would be easy for the tiger cubs would be going to the zoo... or an animal refuge / rescue. These are all outdoors and most of the time there's some good trail hiking involved...

[1st Mate]

This time of year is a great time for day hikes. Walk to the zoo, Hike to the airport, Do a clean up at a local park. Never hike for the sake of hiking, always have a purpose for where you are going and simply use hiking as the mode of transportation.

If you do a nature hike to collect leaf samples there is no need to worry about picking leaves from trees. You will not damage the tree, it's not like cutting green wood. Just make sure of two things.

1-You should have someone with you who knows what the plant is so that you are not handling any irritating vegetation.

2-You should have the permission of the land owner or caretaker, whether private or public property, before you go.


Also when hiking this time of year be sure that each person packs a small first aid kit to treat blisters, carries about quart of water (and have a plan for refills along the way), insect repellant, and sunscreen.

Make sure that the length of the hike is appropriate for the age and development stage of the group.

We always had a chase vehicle nearby when we had the cubs on a hike in case the weather changed or someone got a twisted ankle or the like.

Have fun this summer