I. Brownie Patch Program
Requirements - at least 4 activities including the two that are starred.
- *Find out what a Vernal Pond is.
- *What animals live in a Vernal Pond? What are they called and what do they look like. Make a poster to show others.
- Go to a Vernal Pond. What do you see, smell, hear, and feel? Make a list, do a drawing, or use some other method, and show how you used all your senses at the pond area.
- Do the "Food Chain" activity from the Eco-Explorer Try-It (page 104 of the Try-It book). Use the types of animals that are found at a Vernal Pond.
- Do the "Helping Wildlife" activity from the Eco-Explorer Try-It. Make posters to bring attention to Vernal Ponds and use these to share with others in your troop, school, library or other public place.
- Find out what kind of careers are involved with Vernal Ponds.
- Have a Show and Tell with pictures of animals from Vernal Ponds
Extra Fun!
- *Try the "Water Explorer" activity from the Water Everywhere Try-It (page 142 - 143 in the Try-It book)
- Do the "Outdoor Shopping" activity on page 141 in the Watching Wildlife Try-It. Do your list for animals that live in or around a Vernal Pond.
II. Junior Patch Program
Requirements - at least 6 activities including the starred one.
- *Find out what a Vernal Pond is and why they are so valuable.
- Visit www.capeannvernalpondteam.org website and view the Vernal Ponds video tape (your troop can borrow it from Vernal Pond Team)
- Find out where there is a Vernal Pond near your neighborhood. Visit the pond.
- Find out what it takes to Certify a Vernal Pond. Why is it important to certify these ponds?
- Investigate careers that are involved with Vernal Ponds. Find out what talents, education, or interests you need to do these careers. Make a presentation to your troop, group or class.
- Learn about how the land around Vernal Ponds is used by the animals. Go to a Vernal Pond and clean up the area around it. Be careful not to interrupt areas that animals are using. Bring trash bags and take all the trash with you.
- Do the "Traveling Through Time" activity from the Earth Connections badge (page 95 in the Badge book). Make one of the areas a Vernal Pond. Learn about the evolution of a Vernal Pond. Find a way to show and teach others how to protect Vernal Pond areas.
- Do a Vernal Pond Food Web. Make a poster about Vernal Ponds. Hang it in a public area to help create awareness.
III Cadette/Senior/Ambassador Patch Program
Requirements - do at least 5 activities including the two that are starred.
- *What is a Vernal Pond? Use the Internet, library, and resources available from the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team. Contact us by clicking the green Contact box below, and make arrangements to meet with an Outreach Educator.
- Use the information you collect for the rest of your patch activity requirements. Find out why Vernal Ponds are so valuable and are a threatened resource. What effect do humans have on these areas?
- Make a study of a Vernal Pond. Use photography, videography, and audio recordings to document the area. Use your recordings to make a presentation to display in a public place in order to build awareness.
- Using a field guide, find the animal migration distances used at the Vernal Pond. Make signs and display them around the pond, to show how far the animals will travel to and from the pond during the year.
- Find out if Vernal Ponds are automatically protected in Massachusetts. Find out what it takes to document your Vernal Pond for certification by the MA Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program.
- Using a certification sheet, go through the steps for certification. If your pond is not certified, help to get it certified.
- Learn how to use GPS (Global Positioning System) and map out your pond.
- Find out what careers are associated with Vernal Ponds? Learn what talents, education and working conditions are involved.
- *Using all the information you have learned, find a way to present it to a group of children. Design a game, a puppet show, play, or other type of interactive display, and present it to at least one group of children.
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