Discovering the Power of Worms
Worms might seem small, but they play a huge role in helping our environment. In this activity, Scouts will explore why worms are great, learn what they eat, and make their very own worm hotel using recycled materials.
This activity builds confidence, environmental awareness, and curiosity, especially for those a little unsure about getting up close with wriggly creatures!
What you'll need
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Activity 1 – Food for Worms:
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Clear containers with food scraps (real or pretend)
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Three bins or labelled spots: Worm Hotel, Compost/FOGO Bin, Landfill Bin
Activity 2 – Making Worm Hotels:
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Clean glass jars (e.g. coffee jars), numbered if needed
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Compost in a tub with scoops
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Toilet paper rolls (one per jar)
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Newspaper (ripped into small strips)
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Green and brown materials (e.g. veggie scraps and dry leaves)
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Water bottles
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Paintbrushes or skewers (for pushing down layers)
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2–3 worms per jar
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Soap, water and towels for handwashing
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Before you begin
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Talk with your Unit about:
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What do you know about worms?
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Who likes worms? Who’s not sure—and why?
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Why are worms good for the garden and the environment?
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Make sure you have all materials ready for both activities
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Be sensitive—some Scouts might find worms confronting at first, but that’s part of the challenge!
Activity 1 – Food for Worms (Sorting Game)
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Hand out containers with different types of waste
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Ask each Joey to walk around and decide where it belongs (worm hotel, compost, landfill)
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Once everyone is done, review the items and talk about any surprising or incorrect choices
Activity 2 – Making Worm Hotels
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Place a toilet roll in the middle of the jar as a spacer (with a cover to stop soil entering)
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Add a small scoop of compost, keeping the toilet roll centred
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Press it down using a paintbrush or skewer
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Add a small handful of newspaper strips, press down
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Add more compost
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Add a handful of green scraps, press down
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Add a final layer of compost
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Poke a small hole in the toilet roll cover and pour in a little water
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Carefully drop 2–3 worms into the jar
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Wash your hands thoroughly after handling compost or worms
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Display the worm hotels for the Unit to see
Optional:
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Run a scavenger hunt using labelled gardening pots to match worm hotels
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Set up a gallery walk for Scouts to view each other’s creations
Change the challenge level
Easier
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Pre-cut materials and pre-fill some layers
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Work in pairs or with a Leader’s help
Harder
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Track how the worms behave over the next few weeks
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Research what happens when worm hotels are added to garden beds
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Encourage Scouts to present what they learnt to the Group or another Section
Reflection
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What surprised you about working with worms?
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What was fun? What was tricky?
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Was it easier or harder than you expected to make a worm hotel?
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How did you handle something that felt uncomfortable at first?
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What should we do with the worms and hotels next?
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How could we improve or expand this activity in future?
Review
Activity 1: Food for worms
After all the Joeys have finished figuring out where their item belongs, and walk around as a unit to see what everyone’s ideas were. If any joey got theirs wrong, politely say so, but get their thoughts on why they thought it went there.
Activity 2: Making Worm hotels
Leaders or Joeys who finish early create a scavenger hunt with gardening pots for Joeys to use as a cover for their worm hotels.
Joeys displays their worm hotels on the tables in a gallery style for everyone to admire.
- Bring your Unit together and talk about how the activity went:
- Would you do anything differently? If so, what?
- Was making the worm hotel easier or harder than what you expected?
- What was a challenge you faced, and how did you get through that feeling?
- How did you persevere during the activities?
- What will we do with the worms once they grow in their hotel?