Lebensraum Wald erkunden 1

Sensory experiences - playfulness

To do this, we take off our shoes and socks and blindfold with a cloth. We try to stand blindly in a line and grab the person standing in front of us by the shoulders from behind. As a "caterpillar" on bare feet we now walk a distance through the forest. Only the person in front, i.e. the head of the caterpillar, keeps his eyes open. Although we don't see anything, we probably learn quite a bit more about the various textures of the ground this way than if we had our eyes open.

Supplement

To accommodate playfulness in this sensory experience as well, the following situation can be created: The inert "caterpillar" is on somewhat wobbly feet due to its size. By a call from the person in front, the whole "caterpillar" slowly lays down on its right side. The "caterpillar members" roll over sideways and then try to stand up again. Of course, they should try not to let go of each other. However, this will hardly succeed and a hopeless confusion arises until the blind "caterpillar limbs" have formed a whole "caterpillar" again. This rolling over can happen several times during the migration.

Conclusion

The individual caterpillar members detach from each other and each group member now wanders blindly on all fours in some direction. With their hands in front, they feel out their surroundings.

After a certain time, the leader lets an acoustic signal sound at regular intervals (e.g. strike a triangle). With the aid of the sound produced, everyone tries to return to the centre. The "caterpillar" gets together again and wanders back to the starting point. There the blindfolds may be removed and together we sketch a picture of the place we blindly felt with our hands.

Each group member now first tries to find the place in question again alone. Those who think they have discovered the right place do not let on and return to the starting point. One after the other, small tours to the supposed place are organized by the individual group members. Only at the end is the real place announced.

A walk in the woods as an exploratory assignment

(See PDF file for details)

Source reference:

Content: Klemens Niederberger with the collaboration of CH WALDWOCHEN in den Schweiz. Children's and Youth Associations, 1990?

Patronage:
- Federal Councillor Flavio Cotti, FDHA
- Forestry Directors' Conference (FDK)
- Education Directors' Conference (EDK)

Promoters:
- Schweiz. Zentrum f. Umwelterziehung (SZU)
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
- Schweiz. Bund f. Naturschutz (SBN)
- Bundesamt f. Umwelt, Wald und Landschaft (BUWAL)
- Eid. Forschungsanstalt f. Wald, Schnee u. Landschaft (WSL)
- Forstwirtschaftliche Zentralstelle (FZ)
- Verband Schweiz. Foresters (VSF/ASF)
- Schweiz. Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Jugendverbände (SAJV)
- Dachverband Lehrer und Lehrerinnen Schweiz (LCH)
- Forum schweiz. Elternorganisationen (FSEO)

copyright: CH Forest Weeks, Zofingen

Photos: Klemens Niederberger, Peter Frey, Philippe Pomont and others