World Wildlife Day scavenger hunt/outdoor activity

The purpose of this case study is to have a detailed overview of how I created World Wildlife Day scavenger hunt.

  This outdoor activity will take place in the green areas of Serres. I will give an introduction and instructions, but other than that, it is a group activity. My facilitation is more in the background, because this is rather a hands-on kind of activity.

  World Wildlife Day is about celebrating the many beautiful forms of fauna and flora.   In addition, it is an occasion to raise awareness of the various challenges faced by these species. Not many people are interested in reading books or long articles about wildlife, and even if they are, the chances are, that they will forget half of what they read within the matter of a few days. 

 That is why, as an added value, I decided to organize this scavenger hunt. I wanted to create an opportunity to learn about wildlife in a fun and interactive way.

  The main target group of this activity is people who are not in touch with nature on a daily basis (people who live in cities for example). 

  The desired impact is that participants get so interested in wildlife after this activity that they start to read about it and study on their own afterwards. Which could lead to them taking initiatives in order to contribute to preserving wildlife.

  As an outcome, I think the participants will enjoy gaining knowledge while being outdoors and it is likely that they will not know answers to all of the questions, so they might look them up later and stumble onto some more interesting facts, hence broaden their horizons even after the activity. 

  Scavenger hunt begins with me giving a short introduction to why world wildlife day is important and why we have gathered. Then I will introduce the game. Participants will be divided into teams (whether groups of 3 or 4, depends how many people will be present). 

  Every group gets a map of Serres and the answers’ sheet. On the map, I will have marked beforehand 7 checkpoints, each of the locations have a different QR code on them, which the participants will scan with their phone in order to unveil their task.

   Groups will follow the map and leave in 5-minute intervals. 

  When the last group is back, we will have the last part of the activity: reflection and feedback, for that, I will use the “suitcase evaluation’’ method.

  I will bring a dustbin and a bag, one by one, the participants will stand between those objects and say what they will take with them in the backpack (experience, feeling) and what they will throw away in the dustbin (negative content, experience).

 There are still restrictions and concerns regarding the virus. As an alternative and for people, who wish to avoid contact, I will post the map and answers’ sheet on Praxis’ social media, so that they too could participate. 

 The goal of this activity is to spark interest in wildlife, thus be more eager to contribute to its sustainability. Especially urban people, who most likely do not go to the woods often and have less knowledge in that field.

  Every part of the activity will be posted on Praxis’ social media, a lot of the people who follow Praxis are from Serres, so social media is one of the ways to create a connection with them. I have already created a radio spot and broadcast to promote the activity as well.

  Furthermore, a lot of people pass by Praxis’ office and peek inside, that is why I created posters about the event and hung them up, so that is another way of engaging them. 

  Lastly, it is likely that citizens of Serres will see the QR codes around the city and scan them for fun. In addition to QR codes, I added the name of the international day, as well as the logo of Praxis on the same sheet of paper. Adding the logo will allow people who saw the QR codes to search up Praxis on social media, learn about the activity and consequently wildlife. 

  I am certain that learning about nature while you are actually in it will create a bigger impact than just reading about it. What is more, other participants could potentially get inspiration out of this activity and apply it later in different fields of education.