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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

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Discover what this means

Okay, no way!

Look at adventure dos and don’ts in this game, as we try to reduce the impact of our activities.
Plan a session with this activity

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • Cones or similar markers

Before you begin

  • Set up a large activity area with a line of cones across the centre and two ‘safe zones’ at either end. Ideally, each safe zone should be 10m from the centre line.
  • We’ve provided some ideas for statements to use in this game below. Have some of these or others ready to read aloud. They're all about the environmental impact of activities so you might want to adapt these if you're looking at a different topic.
  • Run this alongside or as part of Mission responsible to learn more about the environmental impact of different actions and activities in adventures.

Play the game

  1. Split the group in half. One team should be the ‘Okay’ team, while the other should be the ‘No way!’ team.
  2. Each team should line up either side of the centre line in the activity area, facing one another. Ideally, they should be two or three metres apart.
  3. The person leading the activity should read out a statement or scenario. The teams need to decide whether each one is ‘Okay’ or ‘No way!’ and shout their team name depending on what they think.
  4. If the statement is ‘Okay’, that team should chase the ‘No way!’ team back to their safe zone, and the ‘No way!’ team needs to get back there as quickly as possible. The ‘Okay’ team should try to tag members of the ‘No way!’ team. If the statement is ‘No way!’, that team should chase the ‘Okay’ team back to their safe zone and try to tag them.
  5. Anyone who’s tagged by a member of the opposite team should join that team after everyone returns to the centre line for the next statement.
  6. Continue until all of the players on one team have been tagged.
  • You can do your washing up in a stream… No way!
  • You can feed any spare food to the local wildlife… No way!
  • Travelling together to the activity location is a good idea… Okay!
  • You should stick to footpaths when hiking… Okay!
  • You can be as loud as you want when you’re outside… No way!
  • Building cairns (piles of stones) is okay if you get bored… No way!
  • Campfires are always a good idea… No way!
  • It’s a good idea to re-pack your food before you go out… Okay!
  • You should clean your boots before you leave for the activity… Okay!
  • If you’re on an expedition, you can camp anywhere you want… No way!

Reflection

There’s a teamwork element to reducing the environmental impact of outdoor activities. The more people who agree to do the ‘Okay’ things, the more you help the environment. The more people who do ‘No way!’ things, the more damage done. Was everyone able to distinguish between the rights and wrongs in this game? Is anyone able to explain why any of the statements that caused the group confusion might be right or wrong? Did anyone disagree with any of the answers, and can they give reasons for this?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

Alter the size of the activity area, change how everyone can move or come up with more or less detailed scenarios/statements to change the level of challenge.

Change the way people can move in this game so that everyone can take part to the full extent. You could remove the chasing and catching element completely, and have everyone in one line. They could then move to one side of the activity area depending on whether they think the statement is ‘Okay’ or ‘No way!’, with players who get it wrong losing a life.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Adventure Challenge Award

Complete Mission responsible to find out more about the environmental impact of different adventures and to work towards the Scouts Adventure Challenge Award.

Have the group come up with some ‘Okay’ or ‘No way!’ statements of their own.