CONSUMER ACTIVISM CART: PALM OIL EDITION

Content:
● Graphics:
■ “What is Palm Oil?” This infographic will have pictures of palm oil, palm
oil plantations, facts about where palm oil is produced, what we use it for
in products.
■ “Palm Oil Activist Groups” What the RSPO is, their guidelines to have
palm oil producers certified as sustainable, non-profit organization that is
dedicated to making sustainable palm oil a reality from the plantations to
the products it is used in.

● Activites:
○ Fly Swatter Game
○ Memorization Game
 How to Use This Tote

General: This tote’s goal is to educate the public about palm oil and show them easy methods to
shop sustainably and other ways to help save the environment through consumer activism.
Choose which infographics and activities to display and feel free to switch them out throughout
the day.

Activities:

Fly Swatter Game:

Main idea: Guests will learn which products have palm oil in them, if it is sustainable palm oil,
alternatives if not, and which products do not have palm oil in them.

Materials:

Poster board with pictures of products

Two Fly-swatters
Stand

Procedure:
● Set the poster on the stand, making sure it is steady and will not fall over easily.
● Give a guest a fly-swatter, if there are more guests than fly-swatters have them point or
tap the picture.
● Ask the guest to ‘swat’ the picture that answers the following questions
○ What product do they think has palm oil in it?
○ What do you think doesn’t have palm oil in it?
○ What product do do you has sustainable palm oil in it?
● After the guest swats or points to the answer, open the flap that has the picture on it. It
will either have a green checkmark indicating it has sustainable palm oil, a red x meaning
it does not have palm oil, or a “no, this product does not have sustainable palm oil” and a
picture of an alternative product that does have sustainable palm oil.
● Repeat the game as long as guests are interested, or all the pictures have been swatted.
● Debrief:
Explain how palm oil is detrimental to the environment by how it puts endangered
animals in danger, or how deforestation prevents a serious problem.
● Guests can easily help animals and deforestation by downloading the Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo’s Palm Oil App.
 ● Explain how the RSPO seal can be found on products that contain sustainable palm oil
and they can help out by buying products that have the seal!
● Encourage guests to take the survey
○ I plan on creating a survey to statistically analysis if the carts intended purpose of
educating the public on palm oil is successful or not. If I cannot make the survey
that is completely fine.

Memory Game:

Main Idea: Gusts will learn which products have sustainably sourced palm oil or unsustainably
sourced palm oil.

Materials:
Eight , six will be covered in green paper, two in yellow paper, and two in red.

Procedure:
● Put some of the boxes on the cart, it does not have to be all the boxes, but have a good
mix of all three colors. The six green boxes use sustainable palm oil, the two yellow are
making efforts to move production to sustainable palm oil, the two red are not making
attempts to use sustainable palm oil yet.
● Ask guests to try and memorize the boxes. Have them either close their eyes, or turn a
cube so the logo is no longer facing the guest.
● Ask guest if they can remember which product was taken away and if the product uses
sustainably sourced palm oil.
● Explain how it is hard to remember all the products that use sustainable palm oil, but then
say the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Palm Oil App makes it easier to shop sustainably.
Scan the product you are considering buying, and it will tell you if it uses sustainable
palm oil or not.
● Repeat with as many products the guest is interested in

Debrief:
● Explain how this is a way to remember which products have palm oil in it and it can
easily be played at home.
● Ask if the guests were surprised by products that do have RSPO certified palm oil in it
but doesn’t have the seal on the box
● Guests can easily help animals and deforestation by downloading the Cheyenne
Mountain Zoo Palm Oil App.
HOW PALM OIL AFFECTS ANIMALS/Environment
○ Infographics
■ Pull tab on how deforestation affects the carbon cycle: There is going to
be pictures of trees with carbon going into the trees and oxygen going out,
the volunteer or the guest will pull the tab, removing the trees and the
carbon will remand
■ Graphic how we’re helping the animals: Products from the RSPO have
been certified that they plantations have not been built on what used to be
forests, also how the World Wildlife Foundation works to save the animals
affected by deforestation by partnering with zoos to save the species
■ Survey stand

○ Activities
■ Deforestation Activity
■ Carbon Simulation
How to Use this Tote:

Activities:

● Deforestation Activity:
○ Main Idea: Guests will learn how plantations limit space for animals to live in and
how organizations such as RSPO help cut down on deforestation.
■ Materials:
● Tub filled with moon sand
● 15 normal trees (number could be suspect to change depending on
what tub I get)
● 15 palm trees
● 5 plastic figurines of various animals
● Popsicle sticks

■ Procedure:

● Set up the tub, putting the normal trees and placing the figurines
into random locations.
● Explain to the guests that plantations take up space that forests
usually take up
● Have guests pick the tree figurines up and place the palm trees and
the popsicle sticks between the forest and the plantation.
● Move the animals to the forest side and explain to the guests that
animals can’t live on plantations
■ Debrief:

● Explain to guests that the RSPO has a policies that no primary

forests or areas that have a fragile ecosystem can be converted into
plantations
● Ask the guests if they are surprised for the amount of space needed
for plantations
● Explain to guests that other organizations such as the WWF partner
with Zoos to help with species survival.
Carbon Simulation:

Main Idea: Guests will learn on how too much carbon in the atmosphere could lead to global
warming and what they can do to help it.

Materials:
● Two Jars; filled with rice. One is covered with black paper, and the other one is covered
with white paper.

Procedure:
● Leave the jars in a sunny place on the cart, let the sun warm up the jars.
● Unscrew the lids of the jars, test to see if the rice is warmer than when it was first set out
by feeling the rice.
● Have the guests guess which jar they think would be warmer; the one with the white
paper or the black paper.
● Have the guests read the jars and explain the effects of carbon on the earth; how trees
filter out carbon, which acts like a blanket the more carbon in the air the thicker the
blanket the thicker the blanket the warmer the earth gets. Trees filter out carbon, but
when we cut them down they can no longer filter it out.
● Explain to the guests that having too much carbon in the air will make our earth hotter,
and cause more extreme weather and cause some animals to loose their habitat due to
deforestation.
Debrief:
● Ask guests they can do to help limit carbon release, like riding a bike or walking
somewhere instead of driving there.
● Explain what they zoo does to help limit deforestation; like reusing materials that are
commonly thrown away.
Children’s book script:

Once upon a time, there was a tiger named Timber and he lived in a big forest. His favorite thing
to do is explore his home. He loved to wander around the trees and talk to his other animal
friends.

One day he wandered too far, and came to a part of the forest that he had never seen before, it
had tall trees and big fruit on it. But it was blocked off with a chain link fence.

He ran into his friend Amy the Orangutan. ‘Hi, Amy!’ He said, smiling at her. ‘What is this
place?’

‘This is a palm oil plantation,’ Amy said, swinging down from the tree. ‘Here the humans grow
palm oil.’

‘What is palm oil?’ Asked Timer. Swishing his tail.

‘Its an oil that the humans use in a lot of things,’ Amy said. ‘They use it in lotion, or shampoo, or
even in cookies.’

‘Oh,’ oohed Timer. ‘So that’s what this place is for. Can we go in and explore?’

Amy shook her head. ‘We can’t go in there, the humans don’t want us to get hurt if we go in.’

Timber tilted his head. ‘That’s nice of them, but what if they get bigger?’

‘The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil said that they can’t,’ Amy said, smiling wide. ‘They
can’t get any bigger here because there is a big forest, they have to find somewhere else to grow
palm oil if they want to get bigger.’

‘That’s so nice of the RSPO to protect our homes,’ Timber said, bounding along the tall grasses.
‘It really is, I had to move here after my other home got turned into a palm oil plantation. Its
nice not having to move again!’ Amy said happily.

‘Timber!’ Timber’s mom yelled. ‘It’s dinner time!’

‘I have to go Amy!’ Timber said, bounding away. ‘Thanks for talking to me about palm oil!’

The end

https://www.cardmakingparadise.com/changing_picture_card.html