How to love a Forest

Nature Tag Team – Card Game

Goals

The primary goal of this game is to increase your knowledge of environmental issues and to be inspired to take action to care for the Forest Family of Life, as well as to engage in creative play and have fun! The game play should be guided by the teachings of knowledge keepers – to act with respect, reciprocity, generosity, and kindness.

Game Play

There are many ways to play this game. We know of three different ways, and you might come up with more!

1. Narrative: Storytelling Version (2 or more players)

Players start with ten cards. The first player puts down a Forest Being, Ecosystem, or Challenge card and tells a story about related to that card. You don’t need to read the card if you don’t want to  – the story can be based on the picture alone. The second player puts down a card that has an ecological connection to the first card. Players continue to take turns building the story of the ecosystem. For example, if the first person plays a salmon card, the second person could play a tree card and explain how trees create shade for salmon. The next player might add an eagle card explaining how eagles help to fertilize trees by discarding parts of the salmon that they eat while perched in trees. Lightning bolt cards can be used to extend the story when a player can name an activity they have done or will do to care for the last Forest Being or Ecosystem played or offset an environmental challenge. Helix cards can be played to imagine an adaptive feature that the Forest being previously shared could develop into the future that enhances their environmental resilience. The game ends when no connections can be made or when the cards run out.

2. Extending the Story (1 or more players)

Start with 5 or more Forest Being and or Challenge cards. Read the superpowers, challenges, abilities and RP (resilience points) of a Forest being. Each card typically focuses on one superpower and ability for each Being, but they might have more. Consider or research what other superpowers and abilities the Being has? Do you think the points they are given for their ability and resilience are correct? What would you change and why?

3. Points-based Game (2 or more players)

Players start with 10 cards. Each player plays a card and celebrates the superpowers of Forest Beings and Ecosystems and/or assesses the destruction caused by environmental challenges (if played) and the impact on the resiliency of the forest being(s) and Ecosystems. Two or more cards that have direct ecological connections can be played together for mor points.

Types of Cards

There are 5 types of cards: 1) Forest Beings, 2) Ecosystems, 3) Environmental challenge, 4) Lightning bolt, 5) Helix, and 6) OP

Forest Beings Cards (Green): All forest beings have diverse Superpowers and are classified according to their abilities:

  1. Balancers – Help to maintain balance within ecosystems (eg wolfs that keep elk populations stable)
  2. Summoners – things that bring other creatures into being  (eg bears that spread seeds through their poop)
  3. Supporter – beings that help or heal other forest beings (eg plants that create shade for salmon)
  4. Adaptors – beings that have developed special abilities to adapt to their habitat or restore themselves (eg salamanders that can re grow tails)
  5. Protectors – beings that use their superpowers to protect others (eg bees that sting to protect the hive
  6. Indicators – Indicators provide early warnings of environmental decline

Forest Beings are also susceptible to particular environmental challenges. Their RP (Resilience Points) reflects their strength (or susceptibility).

Ecosystem Cards (Beige): Ecosystems representation of one or more forest relations. They are also susceptible to particular environmental challenges. Their EP (or Eco Points) reflects their resilience.

Challenge Cards (Red): An environmental challenge that when played, contributes to the destruction of forest beings or ecosystems

Lightning bolt Cards: This card can be played with a Forest Being card to increase its RP (resilience) points by 100, provided a player can name an activity they have done or will do to care for the Forest Being or Ecosystem.

Helix Cards: This card can be played with a Forest Being card adding 200 points to any factor of the card if they can imagine an adaptive feature that the being could develop into the future that enhances their environmental resilience. OP (Over Power) Beings Cards (Purple) These cards are rare. They typically represent special creatures or supernatural beings.

About this Game

This game was designed by the Forest Lunchtime Learning Group with Neva Whintors and Cher Hill. The Forest Beings, Ecosystems, OP Beings, and Environment Challenges cards were created by students. Artist Adriana Contreras created the template for the cards, as well as the helix and lighting bolt cards. 

All funds from the original sale of the cards will be donated to the WWF Canada to support work that Katzie First Nation is doing to restore waterways. The cards are to be shared but have no resale value. All develop costs were funded by a New Frontiers in Research Fund grant. The current cards are GEN 1 and we continue to add and revise cards. Let us know if you find glitches in the game play or have suggestions for new cards. Send comments and feedback to Neva Whintors whintors_n@surreyschools.ca or Cher Hill chill@sfu.ca

This project is supported by The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada