1. Awe & Wonder 

2. Check-in

3. Be Here Now Exercise

4. Designated Photographer 

The Web of Life

Part 1: Build the Web | 12–14 mins

Ask the group to form a wide circle, and to stand in pairs.

If they did the mirroring game, hand out one Web of Life card to each pair and ask them to look at their card and its clue.

If they did the Who Is Most Important? activity, they will already be in pairs with a card. If using a continuous thread, give the ball of wool to the pair holding the Sun card. (To aid the demonstration). If using separate strands, give each pair a strand of wool.

Say: “Our challenge is to create a Web of Life where every point is connected to at least one other point.”

“In your pairs, decide who will be the Weaver of the Web and who will be the Holder of the Web.”

“The Weaver passes the wool. The Holder receives and holds the wool.”

If possible, ask the Holders to sit or kneel, with the Weavers standing behind them.

Demonstrate

Ask the Holder of the Sun card to hold the end of the wool.

Ask the Sun Weaver to pass the wool to the Holder of the Flower Meadow card.

Ask: “What is the connection between the Sun and the Flower Meadow?”

Take responses.

Explain further, if needed: “Plants and flowers need energy from the Sun to grow.”

Ask the Flower Meadow pair: “What connection can you make between the Flower Meadow and another point in our Web?”

Instruct the Flower Meadow Weaver to then pass the wool to another pair and briefly explain why they are connected.

Explain: “This is how we’re going to build our Web.”

“Each card has a clue to help you think about how your species or element might connect with something else.”

“Remember, connections aren’t only about food. Think about shelter, habitat, pollination, water, and all the different things that living things need to survive.”

Build the Web

Invite the Ambassadors to begin making connections.

Continue until every point in the Web is connected to at least one other point.

Check the connections as the activity progresses and offer help where needed.

Once the Web is complete, pause and acknowledge what they have created.

Invite one or two pairs to briefly explain a connection that they made.

Part 2: Experience the Web | 7–8 mins

With everyone still connected to the Web, invite one person to gently pull on their wool.

Ask anyone who can feel the movement to raise their free hand.

Ask “What do you notice? What might this tell us about the Web of Life?”

Draw out: A change in one part of the Web can be felt elsewhere.

Now help the Ambassadors explore indirect connections.

Ask: “Can two things in our Web be connected even if there isn’t a piece of wool directly joining them? How?”

Take a few responses.

Explain: “Most living things aren’t directly connected to every other living thing. They are connected through lots of other species and relationships.”

“That means we can depend on living things that we may not even realise we depend on.”

If you have time, complete Feeling Our Connection. If not, move straight to Part 4.

Feeling Our Connection

Choose either the Bee or Bat card - there is not enough time to do both.

Ask “Do you think bees/bats are important to humans? Why?”

Take a few responses.

Ask the Ambassador holding the Bee/Bat card to gently pull their wool.

Ask “Can the person holding the Human card feel it?”

Then make the indirect connection visible - for example, with the Bee, say: “If humans depend on bees, and bees depend on flowers, does that mean humans also depend on flowers?”

Allow them to respond and follow the connections through the Web.

Ask “So, if something changes in one part of the Web, how far could that change travel?”

Take a few responses.

Reinforce: “That is what makes this a Web of Life. A change in one place can affect other parts of the Web, sometimes in ways we don’t immediately see or understand.”

Part 3: Our Place in the Web | 4–5 mins 

Keep the Web visible if possible.

Ask “Where are humans on this Web? Are we outside it, or are we part of it?”

Take responses.

Say “Last week, Ubuntu helped us explore how people depend on and care for one another. Today, the Web of Life has helped us take that idea of connection even further. Humans also depend on the living world around us. We need plants, animals, insects, soil, water, air, and healthy ecosystems to survive, grow, and thrive.”

Ask “If we are part of the Web of Life, rather than separate from it, does that change how we might care for it?”

Take a few responses.

Embed the Learning | 3 mins

Gather the Ambassadors into a seated circle.

Ask: “What surprised you most about the Web of Life?”

“Has anything changed in how you think about our relationship with nature?”

Take a few responses.

Link to next week’s session: “Today, we discovered that every part of the Web of Life matters and that humans are part of that Web too. Next week, we’re going to explore Nature’s Rights and ask a really big question: If something is important to the Web of Life, how should we protect it, even if it can’t speak for itself?”

The 3-2-1 Reflection is split into two parts. If you have time, complete both. If not, choose Part 1 or Part 2, based on what you feel will best serve the needs of your group.

Part 1: Quiet Reflection | 4 mins

Invite everyone to find a comfortable position and quietly open their Storybooks.

Explain: “I'd like us to spend the next 3–4 minutes quietly thinking about the following questions. Feel free to write or draw your answers in your Storybook. There are no right or wrong answers.”

SLIDE: Display the three questions on the screen:

1. ENJOYED: “What did you enjoy most about this session?”

2. TAKE AWAY: “What are you taking from today that you will practise or bring into your everyday life?”

3. CELEBRATE: “Celebrate yourself. What are you celebrating and why?”

4. Explain why celebrating ourselves is important and why we don’t do it enough.

Part 2: Sharing Together | 4 mins

If you have already completed Part 1:

Invite a few Ambassadors to share one or two of their reflections.

If you are going straight to Part 2:

Display the slide with the three reflection questions.

Remind the Ambassadors why reflection is important and give them a quiet moment to think about their answers. Then invite a few Ambassadors to share one or two of their reflections.

You can then ask:

• Did anything come up that surprised you?

• What is one small action you are going to take away this week?

Encourage listening without judgement and celebrate each contribution.

If time allows, invite the Ambassadors to record any final reflections in their Storybooks before moving into the Invitation and Check-Out.

Winona LaDuke is a Native American environmental activist and writer from the Anishinaabe (Ah-nish-in-AH-bay) First Nation in the United States. She works to protect the environment, Indigenous cultures and natural resources, teaching that people should care for the Earth because we are all connected to it and depend on it.

Keystone species: Organisms that help keep an ecosystem healthy and balanced. Keystone species have more interconnections and interdependencies than most other species, meaning that changes in their population size and wellbeing causes the greatest impact and trophic cascades. Without them, the ecosystem would change dramatically or cease to exist. They are crucial to the whole system.

Trophic Cascade: A trophic cascade is a domino effect within an ecosystem where a change in one trophic level, such as predators, triggers a series of changes across other levels, including prey and vegetation. These cascading impacts can alter population sizes, species interactions, and overall ecosystem structure and functioning significantly over time.

Shelter: What plants and animals use to sleep and protect itself from predators and the weather.

Habitat: The area where plants and animals grow, roam, hunt, forage, find mates and avoid overcrowding. A lack of space can lead to resource competition and make populations more prone to diseases and stress.

Sun: “All creatures need the warmth and light I give. But who needs me to grow?”

 > Flower Meadow / Woodland / Wild Blackberries: The Sun provides light enabling plants to photosynthesise, producing food from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. It also produces oxygen.

Soil: “I’m not alive, but full of life! I help plants grow and stand tall. Some animals live in me.”

 > Flower Meadow / Woodland / Wild Blackberries: Soil provides plants with water and essential nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, that they need to grow.

> Earthworm / Fox / Rabbit: These species use soil to make burrows for shelter. Earthworms also find food and moisture in soil.

Earthworm: “I live underground and help break down dead leaves and plants. I make the soil healthy for plants to grow. I am food for hedgehogs and birds.”
> Soil / Flower Meadow / Woodland / Wild Blackberries: Earthworms break down organic matter and mix it into the soil, helping make nutrients available to plants.

> Hedgehog / Bird: Earthworms provide food for hedgehogs and many birds.

Woodland: “I’m filled with trees and shade. You’ll find nests, burrows and animals hunting quietly. Wings also flap through me.”

> Soil: Woodland enriches the soil by adding dead organic matter, while roots help prevent soil erosion and the shade of the canopy helps retain soil moisture.

> Rain: Trees release water vapour into the atmosphere through transpiration, contributing to the water cycle and rainfall.

> Fungus: Woodland provides fungi with food, shade and moist conditions for growth.

> Bat / Fox / Rabbit / Bird / Hedgehog / Moths, Butterflies and Bees: Woodland provides food, shelter and places to reproduce.

> Wild Blackberries: Woodland provides habitat.

Flower Meadow: “Certain insects love to visit me and other creatures nibble my leaves.”

> Soil: Meadows enrich the soil by adding dead organic matter.

> Rain: Meadows release water vapour into the atmosphere through transpiration, contributing to the water cycle and rainfall.

> Fox: Meadows provide prey for foxes, like rabbits, mice, earthworms and birds.

> Rabbit / Bird / Moths, Butterflies and Bees: Meadows provide food, shelter and places to reproduce.

Bird: “I eat fruits or things that crawl or fly, and build my home in leafy places.”

> Woodland / Flower Meadow / Wild Blackberries: Many birds disperse seeds through their droppings and eat insects that feed on plants.

> Fox: Birds provide food for foxes.

Human: “I shape the world, plant and pick, protect and pollute. My actions can help or harm other lifeforms.”

> All parts of the web:

Positive: Humans protect habitats and species.

Negative: Humans destroy habitats, harm or kill wildlife, and pollute the soil and water.

Bat: “I fly at night and use sound to find flying insects to eat. I sleep in dark, quiet places.”

> Woodland / Flower Meadow: Bats eat and help control insect populations.

Moths, Butterflies and Bees: “We fly from flower to flower collecting something sweet. Some of us fly by day and some of us fly by night. We help some plants grow fruit.”

> Woodland / Flower Meadow / Wild Blackberries: They pollinate flowering plants.

> Birds / Hedgehog: They provide food for some birds.

Hedgehog: “I come out at night and eat things that wriggle or crawl. I live in sheltered places.”

> Soil: Hedgehog droppings add nutrients to the soil.

> Woodland / Flower Meadow: Hedgehogs consume vast quantities of insects, slugs, snails and other invertebrates, which helps maintain ecosystem balance.

> Fox: Hedgehogs provide food as prey.

Rabbit: “I keep my ears up and my teeth busy. I nibble the green, but I’m always watching for those who might want to eat me. I sleep underground.”

> Soil: Rabbit droppings add nutrients to the soil.

> Woodland / Flower Meadow: Rabbits graze on plants, helping to control vegetation.

> Fox: Rabbits provide food as prey.

Fox: “I am quiet and clever. I can hunt other animals, eat fruit and sleep underground.”

> Woodland / Flower Meadow: Foxes help regulate populations of small mammals, contributing to ecosystem balance.

> Soil: Fox droppings add nutrients to the soil.

> Rabbit: Foxes help regulate rabbit populations through predation.

> Wild Blackberries: Fox droppings disperse blackberry seeds.

Wild Blackberries: “I grow in sunlight and soil. I make food on my branches, but who eats it? Visitors with wings help my seeds spread.”

> Soil: Blackberries enrich the soil by adding dead organic matter.

> Rain: Blackberries release water vapour into the atmosphere through transpiration, contributing to the water cycle and rainfall.

> Woodland: Blackberry plants provide food and shelter for woodland wildlife.

> Moths, Butterflies and Bees: Blackberry flowers provide nectar and pollen for pollinators.

> Bird / Fox: Blackberries provide birds and foxes with fruit to eat.

Rain: “I’m not alive, but I give life! I help animals to thrive and plants to grow and bear fruit.”

> Soil: Rain helps move dissolved nutrients through the soil, making them more available to plants.

> Woodland / Flower Meadow / Wild Blackberries / Fungus / Fox / Rabbit / Bat / Bird / Hedgehog / Moths, Butterflies and Bees / Earthworm / Human: Rain provides water needed by all plants and animals to survive and grow.

Fungus: “I grow in soil or on dead wood. I need moisture to grow.”

> Soil / Woodland / Flower Meadow / Blackberries: Fungi decompose organic matter, releasing nutrients back into the soil.

> Fox / Hedgehog / Human / Bird / Earthworm: foxes, hedgehogs and humans all eat fungi as a small part of their diet, along with some birds. Earthworms eat fungi found in the soil as a major part of their diet.