Rove Around the World with Scouts.

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Challenge 3 | OCTOBER 18–24

Sustainable Development Goal:
#2 Zero Hunger

Partner: 4–H Ontario

Country: Egypt

Meeting Length: 20 min–1 hour

Gadget: Mug

Challenge 3
Water De-Nile

Last’s week’s glacial adventure was intense! Your transporting compass has landed you in Egypt, and the climate is hotter and dryer than you’re used to. Good thing the Nile River is nearby so that your Section can rehydrate! Back in the day, ancient Egyptians relied on the river’s seasonal flooding and irrigation systems—which moved water from the Nile to inland crop areas—to have more control over their agricultural expansion.

This week’s challenge focuses on farming and the challenges that farmers experience. Moving water to crops is a major part of Goal #2: Zero Hunger — not only does water transferring provide more crops, but it also has a huge impact on sustainability as moving water in the wrong way can be very damaging to the planet.

Let’s try tapping and irrigating water to make sure everyone has access to the farmed food they need, and that food is being grown in ways that we can continue to use for years to come. Find a GADGET (mug) to hydrate and water your crops and learn a bit about the challenges that come with moving water!

Feeling hungry? You can take action on this Goal in many ways, like learning where your food comes from, buying local, learning about nutrition, or reducing your food waste.

SUBMIT YOUR CHALLENGE

Challenge:

Finding water can be hard, whether you’re in Egypt or Canada. Transport water from one place to another to keep your plants hydrated!

Using mugs, reusable straws, funnels or more, see who can move their water the fastest. For an added challenge, build a mechanism to transport your water through a maze, or use straws to carry water from your bucket to a plant that is 10 ft away!

As a starter, each youth should have a mug with them for this activity. Give each team two buckets—one filled with water and one empty. Place the buckets 10’ apart. The size of the buckets and distance can be increased or decreased to change the level of difficulty for the activity. In their small teams, the youth must move all the water from the full bucket to the empty one—they can do it however they wish, but they cannot move either bucket (they can fill their mugs and walk back and forth, they can do a chain and fill one mug then pour it into the next, they can use spoons instead of mugs, or make use of straw and funnel mechanisms, etc.).

Step it up a notch by attaching straws together and try to water your plant, 10 ft away from the team, by channeling the water from the bucket.

Supplies:

Per person:

Mug
Spoons (Optional)

Per small team (Lodge, Lair, Patrol, etc.):

Two buckets, one filled with water.
Straws (enough to reach 10 ft) (Optional).
Small plant (Optional).

Safety Tips

Prevent slips, trips and falls—timed challenges are fun and everyone wants to be the fastest, but don’t trade safety for speed! Stay on the lookout for water spills and clean them up immediately (think like an NBA mop person when a player falls on the floor!). You can pause the time and freeze individuals in place so that it doesn’t affect their race time.
Does everyone have the right footwear? Plan and make sure they arrive to the activity prepared.

Virtual Meetings

If you’re virtual this week, build a water irrigation system puzzle instead! Start by having each youth cut 20 post-it-note size paper pieces (add more or less to increase or decrease the challenge). From there, have youth draw a flower or plant and one water source (bucket, pond, well, etc.) Next, youth will draw a variety of different pipes (straight ones, elbow pipes, etc.). The more random, the better!

Youth must then put their puzzle pieces together to see if they can make it from the water source to their flower or plant, by using all their pieces. Is it possible? Are there any missing pieces? Who could make the longest system?

Other Activities

Other activities to explore the SDGs (through the Scouts for Sustainability program)

SDG #2—Zero Hunger:

Start a Seed Library, Planting from Veggie Scraps, In My Backyard, Community Gardening, Close Crop, Rain Garden, Vertical Gardens, “Bee” Kind to the Environment, Learn to Compost

Review

How do farmers move water around their fields?
Why can’t farmers just put in a water tap wherever they want?
What has Egypt done to move water around the desert?
How much water was wasted on your journey from the water source, to watering your plant?

Resources

Resources to take the activity further or enhance it for Scouts, Venturers and Rovers:

SUBMIT YOUR CHALLENGE

The Egyptian Federation for Scouts and Girl Guides

We are a voluntary organization responsible for the Scouts and Guides movements in the Arab Republic of Egypt. It began in 1914 and was registered with the World Organization in Geneva, Switzerland in 1922 and registered with the Arab Scout Organization in 1954. The Girl Guides movement began in Egypt in 1925 and was registered globally in 1930.

The federation consists of four central associations (Egyptian Sea Scouts, Egyptian Boy Scouts, Egyptian Air Scouts and Egyptian Girl Guides).

We are excited and thrilled to be a part of the Around the World in 60 Days challenge with Scouts Canada and wish you all a great experience and unforgettable adventure.