Ask the group what they understand by the world ‘sustainability’ and how they can live in a sustainable way – in other words, how to live in a way that respects others and the environment, and uses resources in a fair way with minimum impact on the world.
Explain that the group is going to design a board game, about living sustainably or what is sometimes called ‘being green’. You could design one game for the whole group, or several separate games. It is best to do this activity after you have already learnt a bit about living sustainably and protecting the environment.
The group need to think about positive and negative things people might do, which have an impact on the world. Each of these actions in the game will lead people to be rewarded (e.g. go forward) or punished (go back).
Some possible examples:
- You decide to walk instead of go by car – go forward 2 places
- You drop litter in the street – go back 1 place
- You fit energy-saving light bulbs – go forward 3 places
- You forget to turn the tap off properly – go back 2 places
Give people small squares of coloured card, on which they should write the different actions. They should produce about 20 cards. Before they go on further, discuss together if everyone agrees on the cards. Next draw out a winding game track of about 50 squares. Stick on the action cards about every 2 or 3 squares, mixing up positive and negative actions. Decorate the outside of the board with pictures.
When it is finished, play the game. You could also lend the game to other groups to help spread the message about living sustainably.
Variation
The group could also make their own dice and counters and make the activity last 2 sessions.