Find the Four!

For Blindness Awareness Month and World Sight Day, The Wildlife Trusts and VICTA are setting you a Sensory-Scape Challenge – Find the Four! The challenge is to identify four different things with four different senses.

This is a four senses nature scavenger hunt – by completing this challenge you will learn to engage with nature WITHOUT using your sight! Challenge your friends, classmates and families to give it a try.

Make sure that you wash your hands carefully after handling anything – and don’t eat anything you find!

Time: One-two hours

You’ll need

  • Something soft
  • Something prickly
  • Something wet
  • Something smooth

Touch

Once you’ve found your four items or textures, use your hands, and not eyes, to explore the objects, and ask questions, for example:

  • Do all trees feel the same?
  • Are all leaves the same size and shape?
  • Why are some things smooth and some things rough?

You’ll need

  • Water
  • Soil
  • A tree
  • A flower/fragrant leaves

Smell

Smell each of the four items and ask the following questions:

  • Do flowers, leaves and trees smell the same?
  • What does a pond or water source smell like?
  • If you rub the leaves with your finger first, do they smell stronger?

Listen out for

  • A bird singing
  • A bush rustling
  • A snapping sound
  • A crunching sound

Hear

Go on an adventure and try to hear the four things on the left!

  • Can you identify a bird just by the sound of its song?
  • Can you hear the wind? How does it affect the other sounds?
  • Can you hear any other types of animals?

You’ll need

  • Something a bird eats
  • Something an insect eats
  • Something a squirrel eats
  • A stinging nettle

Taste

Find four things that can be edible to wildlife. Make sure not to eat them, as some things can be dangerous for humans!

  • Use your other senses to examine the objects
  • Can you identify the type of berry, nut or seed that you’ve found?
  • Did you find it difficult to find things? Talk about how wildlife might find their food

We’d love hear how you get on with the challenge. Share your photos and experiences by tagging @VICTAUK and @WildlifeTrusts on social media using the hashtag #BlindnessAwarenessMonth

Find out more about The Wildlife Trusts and where to find a natural environment to explore in your area: www.wildlifetrusts.org 

You can also download the challenge in a pdf format and share it with your friends. Follow the link below to visit the Wildlife Trusts’ ‘Wildlife Watch’ website, which is full of fun activities to try.