Nature Art

Nature art

How long it’ll take:

30 minutes to 1 hour depending on camper's interest.

What the goal is:

Inspire camper creativity with natural resources.

What the objectives are:

Campers should use creative innovation to form small works of art with LNT principles in mind.

What you’ll need:

An outdoor space that has items to use as art (ex. sticks, rocks, leaves, pine needles, dirt).

What you’ll do:

1. Circle the campers together and ask what they normally use when they make art. Explain that they can create a masterpiece simply with things that are outside.

2. Tell campers that they must only use resources from nature. Ask them what is and is not considered natural. For example, if campers find a candy wrapper, they would not be able to use them in their artwork.

3. Explain that they can create something abstract (colors, shapes, etc.) , or something more realistic (an animal, person, etc.). They can also make a 3D sculpture or do something 2 dimensional similar to a painting or drawing (but with nature items instead!).

• If campers need inspiration, feel free to share some pictures of Andy Goldsworthy's abstract nature artwork with this link here.

4. Before collecting, set boundaries for the activity by walking around an area or pointing out landmarks that indicate the barrier.

5. Give campers 5-10 minutes to collect resources for their art and set a smaller boundary for where they can begin creating. Remind them of the 4 D's for collecting resources (dead, downed, detached, small diameter)

6. Give campers 15 minutes (or more if they are super engaged) to let their creativity shine!

7. Once they've finished, circle up campers and explain that they are going to go on a gallery tour of each art installment. After the tour, ask each camper to say something that they enjoyed about a different camper's masterpiece.

8. If you are able, take pictures of the campers with their art pieces and share with their parents so they can always remember what they created!

9. Connecting to the leave what you find principle of LNT, have campers disassemble their artwork. Explain that this type of art is meant to be temporary. That is part of its beauty! Just like a beautiful flower in bloom, this art is meant to be enjoyed in the moment!

Variation: Have campers break into teams and make 1-2 bigger art projects together! Can also challenge the campers to include certain things in their art project if they need guidance (include a circle, a diamond, something smooth, make it 3d, etc.)