Into THE WILD CUB SCOUT- Webelo Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden
Requirements Into the Wild is one of the Webelo CORE Adventure Requirements. For this adventure, scouts and their adult partners learn some outdoor skills, go hiking, and participate in other outdoor activities. Scouts must complete 6 of the requirements 1.) Collect and care for an Insect, Amphibian, or Reptile zoo. You might have crickets, ants grasshoppers, a lizard, or a toad. Study them for a while and then let them go. Share your experience with your Webelos Den. 2.) Set up an aquarium or terrarium. Keep it for at least a month. Share your experience with your Webelos Den by showing them photos or drawings of your project or by having them visit to see your project. 3.) Watch for birds in your yard, neighborhood, or town for one week. Identify the birds you see, and write down where and when you saw them. 4.) Learn about the bird flyways closest to your home. Find out which birds use them. 5.) Watch at least four wild creatures in the wild. Describe the kind of place where you saw them. Tell what they were doing. 6.) Identify an insect, reptile, bird, or wild animal that is found only in your area of the country. Tell why it survives in your area. 7.) Give examples of at least two of the following: 1. A producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in a food chain 2. One way humans have changed the balance of nature 3. How you can help protect the balance of nature 8.) Learn about aquatic ecosystems and wetlands in your area. Talk with your Webelos Den leader or family about the important role aquatic ecosystems and wetlands play in supporting life cycles of wildlife and humans, and list three ways you can help. 9.) Do ONE of the following 1. Visit a museum or natural history, a nature center, or a zoo with your family, Webelos Den/ pack. Tell what you saw. 2. Create a video of a wild creature doing something interesting and share it with your family and den.
Requirement 1 Although you are unable to take insects, amphibians, etc. from Klehm Arboretum, we encourage you to take advantage of our resources to help you when you return home. Below are some of the ways you may find Klehm helpful. Visit the library located in the Visitors Center to learn about various animals Visit the pond near the Children s Garden to observe animals in their natural habitat Ask our various staff members/ volunteers any questions you may have
Requirement 2 Although you are unable set up an aquarium at Klehm Arboretum, we encourage you to take advantage of our resources to help you when you return home. Below are some of the ways you may find Klehm helpful. Visit the library located in the visitors center to learn about planting/ aquarium plants Visit the pond near the Children s Garden to observe animals in their natural habitat Ask our various staff members/ volunteers questions you may have
Requirement 3 While visiting Klehm, watch for birds and identify them. Record which birds you see below. Use the picture guide on the next page to help you. Bird Time Location
Requirement 3 cont. Northern Cardinal House Finch American Goldfinch Mourning Dove Black- capped chickadee Downy Woodpecker American Robin White- Throated Sparrow Blue Jay
Requirement 4 Read the information below to learn about bird flyways. See which flyway is closest to your home and see how many birds you know that use that flyway. Birds on the Mississippi Flyway Canada Goose Wood Duck Mallard American White Pelican Great Blue Heron Bald Eagle Osprey Red Tailed Hawk Sandhill Crane Mourning Dove Barred Owl Woodpeckers European Starling Swallows American Robin American Goldfinch House Sparrow
Requirement 5 As you are walking around the gardens, watch for wild creatures (Reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, fish, insects, or mammals). Record four of the creature s names, the place where you saw them, and what they were doing below. Creature Location Actions
Requirement 6 As you walk around the gardens, look for an insect, reptile, bird, or other wild animal that lives in the Northern Illinois area. Record below why it survives in this area. Use the picture guide below to help you. Animal: Why it survives here:
Requirement 7 Give an example of each part of a food chain. Use the definitions below to help you. Producer: Consumer: Decomposer: Producer- Plants are called producers because they produce their own food Consumer- Animals are called consumers because they cannot make their own food, so they need to eat plants/ other animals Decomposer- Eats dead plants and animals and decomposes them Food Chain- How different organisms eat each other starting out with a plant and ending with an animal
Requirement 7 cont. Discuss and record one way humans have changed the balance of nature OR Discuss and record one way you can help protect the balance of nature
Requirement 8 Hike to the bridge before entering the children s garden. Once there, observe the aquatic ecosystem and read about aquatic ecosystems and wetlands below. Aquatic ecosystem- Ecosystem in a body of water. Communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment live in aquatic ecosystems. Types of aquatic ecosystems Marine ecosystems- oceans Freshwater ecosystem- lakes/ rivers Wetland- Land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land. Impact/ Importance of aquatic ecosystems Because everything is connected, where an ecosystem is out of balance eventually humans will begin to suffer as well. Our health and many of our activities are dependent on the health of aquatic ecosystems. Most of the water that we drink is taken from lakes or rivers. If the lake or river system is unhealthy, the water may be unsafe to drink or unsuitable for industry, agriculture, or recreation even after treatment. Uses of aquatic ecosystems are impaired when these systems are unhealthy.
Requirement 8 1.) cont. Discuss and record three ways you can help support aquatic ecosystems 2.) 3.)
Requirement 9 After visiting Klehm Arboretum, record below what you saw on your visit. Then share your experience with your family, den, or pack.