The power of worms

If you're looking for something new to add to your forest school or outdoor learning area, then consider building a wormery!  They may not sound like the most appealing of structures to have, but they can be absolutely brilliant for teaching about the importance of soil and the processes that happen within it.  If you happen to be on a school site, you can add some of your school's food waste to it as well which helps reduce the amount of food that goes to landfill.  Having a wormery provides a great teaching point and can really help educate children on what happens within soil and how decomposers are some of the most important organisms in the ecosystem.  

You can make a simple wormery that will last for about a week (visit the Wildlife Trusts website to find out more).  All you'll need is a large (1 litre) plastic bottle with the top cut off.  Build up several layers of garden soil, compost and sand, and top with some fallen leaves or old flowers.  Then, hunt down some worms and add them onto the top layer of the wormery.  The'll soon bury down and start decomposing all the decaying matter.  Secure the top with some cling film and an elastic band - don't forget to puncture some holes in the cling film! Wrap the bottle in some card to make it dark for the worms and place it in a cool part of your outdoor space.  Check the layers every so often to see how the worms are doing, and add a little water as necessary to stop it drying out.  Finally, when you have finished with your wormery, release the worms back into the wild so they can continue doing their important work under our feet!

To make it a more permanent structure, buy a wormery which comes with multiple trays and layers for the worms to work their way through. This acts similar to a compost bin but has the added excitement of seeing the worms doing their thing.  How much of the school's food waste can you fit in the wormery?!

Earth Day 2021

Today we have been celebrating Earth Day and it has given us a chance to stop for a moment and think about the impact we are having on earth, our common home.

We have had lots of good conversations in school today about what we do that harms our planet, and how we might go about changing those behaviours.  I have been so impressed with the ideas that children have had in school, and I think it just highlights the importance of making green choices every day and the significant impact this can have over time.

Schools are great places to start when trying to make big social change.  If we instil those green values in young people, then they are more likely to go on and make sustainable choices later in life.  They can also influence people around them and other communities outside of their school life.

For the last year or so, I have been exploring ways of making schools greener places to teach and learn.  Many of the actions we can take are ones we know already; turn lights off when you leave the room, recycle paper, bring a reusable water bottle, eat all your food at lunchtime etc.  However, these changes alone are not always enough to bring about significant change.  They are also difficult to remember to do in the hectic nature of a busy school day.  I'd like to offer a few different ideas that might help to make a difference over time.  Some of them might require more effort or time but I guarantee they'll make a difference (and might save some money too!) Let's see how many you might manage to do?! 

🌍 Exercise books are a huge cost and use of paper -> swap them for slim, cardboard files or folders - this will save paper and glue as you won't need to glue worksheets in all the time; it should also save you a good amount of money, and time as you won't have to trim worksheets down to fit into books

🌍 Food waste can be a big problem in schools -> involve children in deciding on the school menu - this will give them to opportunity to express a preference which will lead to less food waste; make sure you buy local and seasonal as well

🌍 Schools can be very harsh environments -> bring plants into the school and classroom - green has a calming effect on the mind and the plants will help to purify the air; you can make it a task or responsibility for children to have to look after them and water them on a regular basis

🌍 Lots of water goes down the drain every day -> install some rainwater harvesters around your school grounds - the water can be used for watering plants, topping up a bird bath, or creating a mini pond; develop a little outdoor space or forest school area in which to do outdoor learning

🌍 Uniforms are often bought new or thrown out after use -> create a system where uniforms can be passed down or bought second hand to save them going to landfill; it will save parents money too, and you should encourage children to care for their clothes and belongings and not treat them as disposable or replaceable items

It is also a great idea to create an eco-council or green club within your school so that children can take ownership of what happens and change comes from within.  Sign up to become an EcoSchool with eco-schools.org.uk and follow their steps to becoming a sustainable school community.

🌍  Happy Earth Day!  🌍

Saving water

You might have noticed that it hasn't really rained much over these past few weeks.  Plants in the garden are looking a little drier than normal, and buds and leaves are seeming slow to burst and blossom due to the cold dry air that has been lingering for some time.  I've been out in my outdoor spaces trying to get things ready for early summer and get some seeds sown, but it hasn't escaped my attention that the soil is looking dry and cracked and in need of a good rain shower.

What we can do when nature needs a bit of a helping hand?  Turning the hose on and giving the garden a good old water is an obvious choice, but if water levels are low overall then we run the risk of depleting supplies even further.  Water demands are only getting higher with all the appliances that we run daily that use lots of water, and climate change is causing the supply of water available to decline. So what can we do?

Water conservation is the key and there are a number of actions we can take.  Year-round rainwater harvesting is a good option as it makes use of the natural abundance of water from the sky.  It is also a better choice than tap water as it doesn't contain chlorine and other chemicals that may exist in treated water.  You can also channel water from gutters and pipes that would otherwise go down the drain. Buy a water butt to store your water in and use a watering can to carry the water to the plants that need it.  

Grey water is water that has been used for washing and cleaning.  This water can also be used for watering plants though it's best to use it straight away rather than storing it.  Soil and compost can usually filter out any mild residue of soap and detergent.  Make sure you use this water on general plants and not ones that are going to be eaten.  

Finally, if water supplies are low then chances are that birds, insects and other wildlife are also struggling for a drink.  Consider putting a bird bath in your garden for birds to drink from or wash in.  Building a mini pond or even putting a large washing up bowl of water in your garden somewhere can also act as a vital drinking source.  Keep an eye on it and make sure it stays topped up as temperatures continue to rise and rainfall levels stay low.

For more information, visit the RHS website to find out how to save and store water.

The Wildlife Trusts website has some good information on how to build a pond.

Activity: Planting sunflowers

Sunflowers are an easy plant to grow and very rewarding when you see how tall they've become!  In a few simple steps, you can get your own sunflower plants off to a great start and you can even do it using sustainable, plastic-free resources.

First, you need to get hold of some sunflowers seeds.  April and May is the best time to start to grow sunflowers.  You can easily find seeds in garden centres at this time, or sometimes supermarkets and hardware shops (my local ironmongers has loads of cheap seeds that are easy to grow!) If you know someone who has previously grown sunflowers, you could ask them if they have any spare seeds from the previous year.

To help the seeds germinate, place them in some damp kitchen roll and place on a warm window-sill for a couple of days.  This isn't essential but might just help them get started before putting them into the soil. 

You can then sow your seeds straight into the ground, or you might like to start them off in some small containers such as yoghurt pots or tin cans.  All you need is some fresh soil or compost and a trowel or spoon to dig the soil.  Place the seeds in about 1cm down and cover them over.  Make sure you give them a good initial watering.  

As the seeds start to grow you might want to thin them out (move then a bit further away from each other) to give them maximum space and light to grow.  Slugs and snails love to eat the new shoots so you can protect them by cutting the top off an old plastic drinks bottle and place it over your new shoots.  

As your sunflower gets taller, support it with a cane or secure it to a nearby fence so it can reach even higher.  If you like, you can feed it with tomato feed which you can buy from a garden centre.  

Finally, once your sunflower has bloomed and faded, harvest the seeds for next year so you can grow more sunflowers without having to buy more seeds 🌻