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Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6McnNPHJIA

Answer the following questions:

1. What materials do you need for this method?

2. What can you find out with this method?

3. What precondition should the ground have to perform this method?

4. How does this method work?

5. When is the shadow shortest and when is it longest?

6. In which general direction is the shadow wandering everywhere on earth when using this method (general/approximate direction)?

7. How precise is this method?

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Shadow Stick Method for Finding Direction

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The motion of the stars can be confusing at first, although it all stems from the Earth’s rotation and orbit. Using a moving star as a reference point is problematic, especially for long journeys, so, you can't just pick any star in the sky and follow in its direction. So, what's needed is a reference point, that no matter the year, month, week or day, will always lead you in the same direction.

Things You Should Know

• Stars used for navigation vary, depending on which hemisphere you're in, north or south as the stars in the northern hemisphere can't be seen from the southern hemisphere, and the other way around.

• In Northern Hemisphere Polaris indicates true North

• In Southern Hemisphere Southern Cross guides towards south

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Disclaimer for Nature´s Compass - TermsFeed

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Quiz: Navigation with the Help of Plants

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Quiz: Navigation with the Help of Plants

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Navigation with the Help of Plants - Details - Kahoot!

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Join a game of kahoot here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn - any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

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Nature's Compass © 2024 is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0

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Mindmap created with MindMeister

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“Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.”

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HUTH, J. E. (2013): Lost Art of Finding Our Way. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1544 p.

NYERGES, C. (2020): Guide to getting around without a compass: How to find your way using the sun, stars, and other natural methods of navigation. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing. 154 p.

GOOLEY, T. (2011): The Natural Navigator: A Watchful Explorer’s Guide to a Nearly Forgotten Skill. New York, NY: The Experiment Publishing. 250 p.

LISCUM, E.; ASKINOSIE, S. K.; LEUCHTMAN, D. L.; MORROW, J.; WILLENBURG, K. T. & COATS, D. R. (2014): Phototropism: growing towards an understanding of plant movement. – The Plant cell, 26(1): 38-55.

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Game code: 334309

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Access to challenges: Enter your Game Pin

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Navigating with the sun can be a little bit tricky but it only needs a few important principles one have to memorize to use it everywhere on earth. To unterstand this principles it's good to know three basic facts:

Our earth is rotating around it self from west to east. The rotation axis is the axis from north pole to south pole

The earth orbit around the sun

The earth is tilted around 23,5° to the "orbiting plane" around the sun

The best and easiest way to use the sun for navigation is to:

observe the position where the sun rises and sets

observe where the sun is at noon (what path the sun takes during the day)

use the stick method to determine the cardinal directions

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In principle the sun rises in an eastern direction and sets in a western direction (because of the earths rotation from west to east) but because of the earth tilt the exact positions dependenting on the date of year and on the latitude of the observer.

But everywhere on earth there can be oberserved the same pattern:

21.06.: sun rises north of east and sets north of west

21.12.: sun rises south of east and sets south of west

21.03 & 22.09: sun rises due east and and sets due west

How far the sun rises and sets maximally north and south on 21.06. and 21.12. depends on the latitude. As a rule of thumb: The higher you latitude the more north or south the sun rises and set.

For germany the sun rises and sets almost NE and NW on 21.06. and on 21.12. the sun rises and sets almost SE and SW.

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At noon (middle of the day) the sun can also preveal us a cardinal direction. This works best for the biggest part of the northern hemisphere (>23,5° N) and the southern hemisphere (>23,5° S) because

in this area the sun can't be in cenit of the observer.

For the northern hemisphere (>23,5° N) applies that the sun is always seen south at noon so the sun rises in an eastern direction, travels over the southern horizon and sets in western direction.

In contrast of this in the southern hemisphere (>23,5° S) the sun is always seen north at noon so the sun rises in an eastern direction, travels over the northern horizon to a western direction where it sets.

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Because of the vital part sunlight plays in the life of plants, they have inner processes/hormones (Auxins) which cause the plant grow towards the most light ergo energy.

This phenomenon is called phototropism, when talking about sunlight heliotropism.

The most sunlight is received by a given place on the ground when the sun stands at the highest angle, which is the case in the Northern Hemisphere for South and in the Southern Hemisphere for North.

These two facts combined let us conclude that a plant or a tree grows towards South in the Northern Hemisphere and towards North in the Southern Hemisphere. This phenomenon is best seen on tree branches or in stumps of cut down trees, where the rings are thicker towards the South.

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Another factor in the growth of trees other than sunlight is prevailing and periodic wind by which unprotected trees will be shaped. If the wind blows from the north, a tree will be rounded towards the south. In order to use this to your advantage, you have to know the prevailing wind direction for the region you have to navigate in.

In Germany, wind most likely blows from the NW, in UK e.g. it blows from the SW.

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Many people think that "Moss grows on the northern side of trees" which is partly correct because it indeed grows there, but it can also grow anywhere else.

Moss does for a fact prefere moist places which are often on the northern side which receives the least light (see Growth of Trees towards the Sun). However, the growth my be additionally influenced by less steeper parts of the bark as well as holes and hollows which revise the influence of the light and play more into the slower evaporation of water.

If using this method watch out for these factors or safley use it in combination with other clues.

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If you are using Vegetation for orientation, there are some rules to keep in mind, one called, inspired by Tristan Gooley, the "King of the Jungle"-Rule. This means that an isolated tree will show more pronounced signs of the forces of nature in its growth. A tree standing solitary on a clearing or on grassland is strongly influenced by prevailing wind and direct sunlight. It also means that the perfect navigator tree is one independent and uninfluenced by other trees with which it would be in competition over light and water with and therefore grow according to these factors and not the trustworthy weather events. In a forest, this would be the highest, strongest or oldest appearing tree.

A decidious tree is even better because it reacts stronger to sunlight and the clues which are later discussed are better to be seen.

After having found the perfect tree, always do a full circuit and then paint a picture

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The Natural Navigator: Find your way using nature

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Learn to navigate using nature. Find your way using the sun, moon, stars, sea, plants, animals and more.

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In the northern hemisphere, Polaris, or the North Star, is the most reliable star for navigation. It sits almost exactly above true north and hardly moves in the sky, while other stars appear to rotate counterclockwise around it. You can find Polaris by first locating the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). Focus on the two stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s “bowl,” called the pointer stars. Imagine a line connecting these two stars and extend it upward about 5 times the distance between them to reach Polaris. An alternative method is to use your fist to measure distances in the sky. With the back of your hand facing you, an outstretched fist makes an angle of about 10 degrees. For example, Polaris and Dubhe, one of the pointer stars, are three fists apart, which is approximately 30 degrees. Polaris also helps measure latitude. Its height above the horizon matches your latitude in the northern hemisphere. You can use your outstretched fist to estimate this angle and determine your location.

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In the Southern Hemisphere, there is no bright “South Star” to guide navigation. Instead, the Southern Cross, or Crux, is used to approximate south. However, finding the right cross-shaped pattern can be tricky because many groups of four stars can look like a cross. To help identify the correct one, look for the two bright stars beside it, known as the Pointer Stars. These stars always point toward the Crux, confirming you’ve found the right stars.Once you’ve located the Crux and the Pointer Stars, you’ll find the south by visualizing some lines.

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Another constellation to mention is Orion, probably the most widely known one after the Big Dipper. It resembles a hunter with a shield and raised club, outlined by four bright stars, with three in a line forming his belt. Below him lies the Big Dog constellation (Canis Major), home to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. Orion travels across the sky just south of the ecliptic, rising in the east and setting in the west. If you're lost and can spot Orion, it can help you reorient yourself.

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Analyse the pictures and explain what you see. Discuss then in which direction we are looking.

FYI

We have asked Tristan Gooley, author ot The Natural Navigator to use his pictures and he kindly agreed.

We are allowed to show them in the presentation but not to upload them, we hope for your understanding.

The discussion depends on these pictures so simply look at the projection ;)

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Sources HUTH, J. E. (2013): Lost Art of Finding Our Way. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1544 p. NYERGES, C. (2020): Guide to getting around without a compass: How to find your way using the sun, stars, and other natural methods of navigation. New York, NY: Skyhorse

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The nature around us offers us many clues which can help an attentive observer orient themselves. By leveraging observations of natural clues the project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of nature-based orientation. With regard to the studies of Environmental Monitoring which require work in the open, being able to find the way is quite relevant.

This research mainly draws on data from various books on the topic whose contents were critically evaluated and compared to extract the core ideas.

The project is structured into three main topics:

First, navigation by sun. Sun navigation is based on the different positions the sun takes up in the celestial sphere throughout the year. The sun always rises in an eastern direction and sets in a western direction. The exact rising and setting positions change over the year because of the tild of the earth and depend on the date and on the latitude of the observer.

Also the sun's position at noon can be used to determine cardinal directions. At noon in most parts of the northern hemisphere the sun is always in the south and in the southern hemisphere always in the north. To find out the cardinal directions at each time of the day the Shadow-Stick-Method can be used which works based on the shadows cast by the sun.

Second, the impact of the weather on the growth of plants: The phenomenon called phototropism which describes a plant growing towards the direction of the most light, which can be used to discern cardinal directions due to the fact that the sun sheds the most light in zenit which is in the Northern Hemisphere South and in the Southern Hemisphere North. Additionally, a prevailing wind shapes an isolated tree, which can be a strong clue if the direction of said wind - every place holds a predominant wind direction - is known to the observer.

Third, star navigation focuses on key constellations and their movements. In the north, the Big Dipper points to Polaris, which shows true north. Its height above the horizon matches your latitude, and you can measure this with an outstretched fist.

In the south, the Southern Cross (Crux) is used to find True South by extending its longer axis downward. Orion, visible in both hemispheres, is also important. Orion’s Belt points to Sirius, the brightest star, and Orion rises in the east and sets in the west, helping with direction.

It can be concluded that while the use of nature in matters of orienting is always strained by a certain subjectivity of the individual and can never keep up with modern technology, it definitely can be fun to use the knowledge and in some cases even helpful or life-saving.

This OER offers an overview of said clues nature offers for orienting as well as learning material to memorize them in form of texts, a video and a quiz