Week 3: Sustrans Outside In

Welcome to Week 3 of Outside In family activities and inspiration. 

Missed out on Week 2? Check it out here. 

We would love to see how you're keeping active and creative in lockdown. Share your activities with us using #SustransOutsideIn

Day 1: My favourite places

Create a 3D picture of your favourite place for a walk or cycle. It could be recreating your journey to school. 

What you'll need

• pen and paper
• colouring pencils
• glue
• scissors

Gather up waste and recyclables from around your house. These might include: 

• cereal boxes or cardboard box
• empty parcels
• empty toilet rolls
• washing-up liquid bottles
• milk cartons 
• anything else that might be useful.

Instructions

Let's first give everything a really good clean and then you can start creating your masterpiece.

1. Decide where is your favourite place to walk or cycle. Or think of your journey to school.
2. Draw a picture of this journey on a piece of paper. 
3. Next, let's replicate this place or journey by making a 3D painting using all your recyclables
4. Use the biggest box you can find as your setting. Open one of the longer sides of the box and lay this flat. You can draw the path or road on this flat bit. Use the remaining standing sides as your background.
5. Draw more detail on the standing and flat sections of your box. You can use your paper drawing as inspiration. 
6. Colour in your scene. 
7. You can add some finishing touches to your 3D scene by taking your recyclables and adding them using glue. You can decorate them too! For example, you could use sticks for trees and create bicycles, people and houses out of cardboard. 
8. Stick them all in place and admire your favourite place creation!  

Share your designs on social media using #SustransOutsideIn

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Day 2: Active scavenger hunt

Search your local area and try to find everything on our active scavenger list.

What you'll need

• Pen
• Paper

Can you spot something for each of these actions in your local area.

Extension

Write a story that includes all the actions you had to do to complete the Scavenger Hunt. Remember to include some colourful pictures.

Create your own Scavenger Hunt for your family. These can include cryptic clues, things to draw and shapes to match.

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Day 3: Lichen detective

Discover more about lichens and what they can tell us about the air quality around us.

What are lichen? 

They are grey, green or yellow plant-like organisms that grow on rocks, walls and trees. 

Lichen can show us how clean or polluted the air we breathe is. This is because they are very sensitive to changes in their environment.

Watch the video below and download the guide to discover more.

What you'll need

• Pen and paper
• Download the Lichen ID Guide

Instructions

1. Download the Lichen Identification Guide
2. Watch the video above and learn about lichen species and your local air quality. 
3. Test your knowledge with the quick quiz below. 
4. Then head out with your ID guide and become a Lichen detective!

Lichen quiz

Fill in the missing words.

Lichen are made up of two tiny things called o________ which benefit from living and working closely together.

F________ give the lichen its shape and a________ give the lichen the food it needs to survive.

Lichen absorb nutrients from the surrounding air through p____________.

Go to answers

Become a lichen detective in your area

Lichen are found in many places all over the UK and around world. They come in many different shapes and colours.

Scientists study lichen to understand air quality because some species survive where levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) are high, and others where NO₂ is low.

NO₂ is a harmful gas produced by burning fossil fuels e.g. petrol for cars.

There are:

• Nitrogen loving lichen: grow well in areas with high levels of NO₂ like towns and busy roads.
• Nitrogen sensitive lichen: grow well in areas with low levels of NO₂ like forests and woods.

Think about the places where you would find nitrogen loving and nitrogen sensitive lichens.

Write down if you think the air may be clean or polluted.

Now it’s time to look at your ID Guide and explore lichens close to home. Are they nitrogen loving or sensitive?

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Day 4: My dream board

A dream board is a great tool for teaching us all about goal setting - an important life skill.  

Learning to set goals teaches us to take responsibility. We learn how actions can determine the outcome. And it’s a great way to build up confidence.

Instructions

1. Set your goals – realistic and achievable within the next 12 months. Do you have any walking, cycling or scooting goals? Maybe you want to travel a certain distance within the year or gain more skills. Or why not set yourself a challenge?
2. Write down a list of words that describe how you want to feel daily. You can write them, or cut them out of a magazine. You could also include how you’d like to feel when you cycle or walk to school.
3. Find pictures that represent goals and make you feel inspired.
4. Add pictures and inspirational words onto your dream board. Don’t glue straight away! Make sure it’s exactly how you want it to look.
5. Display the boards somewhere visible. Spend time every day looking at your board. This will help you to visualise goals and keep the motivation high.

Adults, remember to cheer on children on as they make strides, pedals or jumps towards their goals.

The journey is just as important as achieving the goal itself.

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Day 5: Obstacle course

Design an obstacle course in your home or garden. Or chalk draw your course on a pavement or path. 

Remember to ask an adult for advice on where to set up your obstacle course. And follow government guidelines on social distancing. 

What you might need

• Pencils
• Paper
• Chalk
• Various household items like tins, bottles, rope or string
• And your imagination!

Instructions

1. Draw out a plan for your obstacle course on paper. 
2. You might want to include hopscotch, hopping, running, walking the plank or adding in sharks to areas where you can’t step. If you're using chalk, you could include a message to NHS workers, draw wiggly lines to follow or colour in a rainbow.
3. Now you have your design, let's create your obstacle course.
4. Using your collected household items or chalk, build or draw out your obstacle course. 
5. If you are using chalk to draw your obstacle course: check out these ideas for inspiration.

Remember to ask an adult for permission if you are using chalk. And always follow government guidelines on social distancing

Once you've created your course it's time to get active and have a go.

Extension 

Have a think about what your ideal obstacle course would be along your road?

What things would you have in it if you could choose anything (bouncy castles, swings, rope ladders, zipwires)?

Why not draw out your street and design it? Do you think it would be better to have a fun thing like that instead of so many cars?

Share your ideas with us using #SustransOutsideIn. 

Day 3: Answers

Missing word

Lichen are made up of two tiny things called organisms which benefit from living and working closely together.

Fungi give the lichen its shape and alga give the lichen the food it needs to survive.

Lichen absorb nutrients from the surrounding air through photosynthesis.   

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