The Week Junior - Science + Nature
nature Help regrow
Model forest regeneration after a bushfire.
What you will need:
A computer Scratch
How does it work?
This project uses a free, online coding language called Scratch. It models how bushfires break out and how nature bounces back afterwards. To learn more about forest regeneration go to tinyurl.com/sn-bushfire
Bush script
1
Navigate to bit.ly/mhbushfires on your internet browser and open up the starter project in Scratch.
2
Click on the bush sprite (icon) on the right side of the screen.
3
Build the script (a set of instructions made from a stack of coding blocks) above, by dragging the colour-coded blocks from the list on the left-hand side of the screen.
Snap them together in the coding area. In Scratch, each project begins with the “green flag” hat block.
4
When you have created the first block of instructions, move on to the longer script underneath. This script places bushes randomly around the screen.
5
When you are done, check each line carefully.
Fire script
1
To add fire to the stage, click on the fire sprite and build this script.
2
Begin with the “green flag” hat block as usual.
3
Carefully copy the script above into the coding area in the middle of the screen, checking each line of code as you go.
4
On some of the blocks you will need to select the correct word from the drop-down menu. For example, when you select “switch backdrop to” block, you will need to select fire or regrowth from the drop down menu.
5
Finish with another “switch backdrop to” block.
6
Give all the lines and blocks a final check and test out your game by clicking the green flag.