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Brownie Wonders of Water Take Action Project Sample Sessions: Clean Air Gardening

Over the years, as we add more synthetic materials such as clothing, furniture, carpets and other floor and wall coverings in our living and working environments, we add chemicals to the air. Trees and plants not only turn carbon dioxide into oxygen for us to breathe, research shows plants also cleanse the air of chemicals that are harmful to us. Growing and donating houseplants to schools, libraries, work places, homes, senior care centers, community centers and other public areas can be done at any time of the year and provides a valuable service to the community.

Session 1 Plants and Oxygen—oxygen experiment Community Search for Missing Plants—find homes for plants

Session 2 Planning a Plant Party—plan a donation plant party Making Invitations—invite friends and family

Session 3

Plant Party!—collect plant donations Session 4

Site Visit—donate plants Session 5

Making a Thought Plant—think about the project

experience Resources • "How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office" by B. C. Wolverton • "Clean and Green: The Complete Guide to Non-Toxic and Environmentally Safe

Housekeeping" by Annie Berthold-Bond • "The Green Kitchen Handbook: Practical Advice, References, and Sources for T

ransforming the Center of Your Home into a Healthy, Livable Place" by Annie Berthold-Bond, et al

• "The House Plant Expert: The World's Best-Selling Book on House Plants (Expert Series)" by D. G. Hessayon

Session One: Plants and Oxygen Objective: Understand that plants "breathe" oxygen. Time Allotment: 15 minutes Materials Needed:

• Clear glass bowl of water (a small aquarium works well) • Glass jar • Small water plants such as pondweed (can be purchased at a pet store)

Prep Needed: 1. If you do not have access to sunlight during meeting time or a sunlamp, prepare one version of the

experiment before hand to use as an example. 2. Purchase or find pondweed.

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Experiment: 1. Place the plants in a clear, deep bowl of water or an aquarium. 2. Fill the clear glass jar with water by lowering it on its side into the bowl, letting all trapped air

bubbles escape. 3. Turn the glass upside down to cover the plants. 4. Leave the plants in a sunny place and watch what happens. You will not have wait for long. 5. Oxygen bubbles from the plants will start rising toward the surface of the water! Eventually a pocket

of oxygen will collect at the top of the jar. 6. Explain to girls that plants and trees release oxygen into the air. During the process of making food

from carbon dioxide and water, trees and plants give off oxygen. Energy from the sun is used to change the carbon dioxide and water into food and release oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis.

Note: Plants need to be healthy and experiment needs to be done in a sunny location. If you are unable to conduct the experiment in the sun, perhaps you can do one during the day and an artificial one during meeting time.

Session 1: Community Search for Missing Plants Objective: Determine places that need plants to clean the air. Time Allotment: 25 minutes Materials:

• Paper, markers or crayons

Activity and Discussion: 1. Lay two sheets of paper on a flat surface. Divide each in half by a line down the middle. On one

sheet, label the sections "Places with Dirty Air" and "Places with Clean Air. " On the other sheet, label the sections "Places with Plants" and "Places without Plants".

2. Explain to the girls that you would like them to think of places they know that fit into the categories and to either draw or write about them on the paper. Let the girls draw on the paper in one or more sections.

3. After they have completed their mural and have put away their markers, have them gather around another large sheet of paper and still have access to their drawings. Start with the following questions but do not write anything down.

• What do we need to breathe? Oxygen. • What makes oxygen? Plants . • Who needs air? • Do we know any people that need cleaner air? Teachers, friends, parents, etc. • What could we give them that would make clean air? Plants. • Would you like to grow plants and then give them to people so they can have clean air?

4. Ask the following questions and record the answers: • Looking at your drawings, where are some places and who are some people that may need

cleaner air? Where are some places that don't have plants? Where are some places that could have more plants? Let's decide who should receive our plants.

5. Take a vote. Now you have decided to whom to give your plants. Keep this list for the next session.

Session 2: Planning a Plant Party Objective: Plan a party to collect plants to donate. Time Allotment: 10 minutes Materials Needed:

• Chalkboard or large sheets of paper • Method of recording so everyone can see and participate

Discussion: Using the following as a guide, ask the below questions and record answers so all can see.

• Who do you want to invite? • What are you going to do? • What kind of food do you want to serve? • What should people bring to the party? Plants, food, etc.?

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• What time is the party? What time will it begin? What time will it end? • What kind of plants should people bring to the party? How much should they spend? • What information do you need to put on your invitation?

Suggestions: Each person is encouraged to bring a plant to donate. Each person can paint a pot (if you want to provide such an activity) and/or each person can make a "Take Care of Me" Tag for their plant. Girls can demonstrate the oxygen experiment. Or, girls can draw pictures of what happened and show those and explain the experiment.

Session 2: Making Invitations Objective: Make invitations for the plant party. Time allotment: 25 minutes

Materials: • Craft Items, paper, scissors, etc.

Activity: Using the information Session 2: Planning a Plant Party, girls can fill in the following invitation or create their own.

You're Invited to a Plant Party!

Troop _____ would like to give ______________________ cleaner air andyou can help by donating aplant.

When: _________________ Where: _______________________________________________________ (date and time) (address and directions if necessary)

What we will do: ___________________________________________________________ (activities at the party)

What to bring: an inexpensive plant and _________________________________________ (Food? Pots? Paint? Etc.)

RSVP to __________________________________________________ by ____________ (leader or parent and phone number) (date)

See you there!

Include a list of the best plants for cleaning the air on the invitation. Adapted from Bill Wolverton's "Top 10 Air Cleansing House Plants List"

• Lady palm (Rhapis excelsa) • Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) • Ficus alii (Ficus macleilandii) • Peace lily (Spathiphyllum sp.) • Golden pothos (Epipremnun aureum) • Arrowhead vine (Syngonium podophyllum) • Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifritzii) • Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) • Rubber plant (Ficus robusta) • English ivy (Hedera helix)

Session 3: Plant Party! Objective: Educate, have fun and collect plants for donation.

Supplemental Activities:

Pot Painting and "How to Take Care of Me" Tags Time: 40 minutes

Party: Have fun painting pots and eating food that comes from plants. Party go-ers may want to make "How to Take Care of Me" tags for the plants. Use the following template.

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I am a _________________________ plantand Iwill clean your air if you take care of me. I need ___________________ sunlight andplease water me _____________ times a month. Thank you! A gift from Troop _________ .

Note: If girls and their guests would like to paint pots, it is best to allow paint to dry completely before putting plants in the pots. It is also best to leave the plant in its plastic container and place it inside the painted pot. If the recipient of the plant would like to transplant it, they can. If the plant is transplanted in one place and then moved to another place in a short amount of time, the plant may suffer from environmental shock.

Session 4: Site Visit Objective: Girls meet and present plants to the recipients. Time Allotment: Depends on girls' interest and site visit commitment. Prep Needed:

• Call and arrange a time for a donation visit. You may want to ask if a tour is available or if someone can speak to the girls about the site.

Site Visit: Girls can meet the people who will receive their plants and present the plants to them. Girls may want to explain why they are donating plants and the benefits of caring for plants.

Session 5: Thought Plant Objective: Girls think about the project and share what they learned. Time Allotment: 20 minutes Materials Needed:

• Paper, Paste or tape • Markers, paints or crayons

• Felt board or poster board with plant stem drawn on it

Prep Needed: 1. Cut out or prepare templates for large paper leaves (one or more per girl). 2. Draw a pot and stem on poster board and label it Girl Scout Thought Plant.

Creative Activity and Sharing Circle: 1. Girls can write or draw their favorite part about the project on a leaf. 2. Girls then take turns explaining what they wrote or drew and placing the leaf on the stem. 3. When everyone has explained their leaf, girls can talk about what is different and the same about

the leaves and what they thought about the project.