Take learning outside this spring

The return to school tomorrow is feeling like a new start for many of us :)  The long winter slog is almost over, and the longer, lighter days are bringing us sunshine, new hope, and the chance to rekindle old friendships.  Why not take the opportunity to introduce some new ideas into your teaching too?

Taking learning outside has been shown to increase engagement and stimulate many more senses and types of learning than in the classroom.  Being outdoors facilitates more practical, hands on learning and encourages children to thrive who might normally shy away from participation in an indoor setting. 

Forest Schools have become a way of making outdoor learning more regular and this helps children to engage with nature and appreciate its dynamics and rhythms over the seasons.  You don't have to be an official forest school, however, to take advantage of the benefits of teaching outside.  Why not incorporate some outdoor time into your science or geography lessons, or even think of a way of taking maths outside or spending time having discussions during a PSHE session?  

Spending time outside may be a particularly useful way of easing the return to school for some children who may find the intensity and chaotic, noisy nature of being in the classroom a bit overwhelming at first.  Including some activities such as forest school crafts or team building games which can be done in an open space might help children interact with each other and remember how to play together.  

There are loads of useful websites for outdoor learning, these are some of my favourites:

🌳 The Wildlife Trust 

🌳 Learning through Landscapes

🌳 The School Run

🌳 Twinkl (you may need membership to access fully)

Have a search on Pinterest for tonnes of ideas, or look at the resources on my blog too:  learningthroughnatureblog.blogspot.com

Planting blossom trees

We are approaching blossom season! 🌸🌸🌸

To boost the amount of blossom trees in the UK, the National Trust is pledging to plant hundreds of blossom trees at different sites including London, Nottingham, Newcastle and Plymouth.  These will include varieties such as cherry, hazel and plum which all give beautiful pink flowers in the spring.  The project is hoping to boost nature in these areas where there is currently not much access to green space and to give people a closer connection to the natural world. 

The inspiration for this has come from Japan where each spring they have "Hanami" - the celebration of flowers at the arrival of spring.  Trees are in bloom everywhere you look and it creates quite a spectacle which people travel from far and wide to see.  By boosting the number of trees (particularly blossoming trees) it is hoped that it will create a similar spectacle in the UK and draw people's attention to the beauty of nature.  Many populations live in 'grey deserts' in the UK where there are large areas of no trees or green space, and this can have an impact on people's mental health, and their appreciation and respect for the natural world.  

Blossom is also plays an important in supporting ecosystems.  An abundance of pollen increases the number of pollinating insects such as bees, wasps, beetles and flies.  These in turn feed birds in the local area who can further spread pollen and seeds.  When looked at together, these behaviours all help to make a richer environment that can support a more diverse wealth of wildlife.  

Why not think about planting some blossoming trees in your garden or school?  The sight of blossoming trees can spark interest in young children and help them to understand the life cycle of trees and the seasons. You could even incorporate these events in to lessons, and do some research into places like Japan who have amazing blossom events every year!

To find out more, visit the BBC to learn about the blossom planting project; or kiddle to find out more about Japan's seasonal blossoming 🌸🌸🌸

Walk to school this spring

Although many of us are still in lockdown, it seems as though the return to normality is not far off now and schools will be one of the first places to get back up and running. Many children have still been attending school every day of course if they have learning needs or are children of key workers, but the return of all children will bring back the busyness of the school run and the increase in traffic that inevitably accompanies it.

With the restrictions of lockdown, lots of families have recently turned to walking as a shared activity and a chance to escape the confines of the house together!  I'm sure there are lots of people who previously would never have considered themselves a walker that because of lockdown have now embraced getting their boots on and striding out the front door on a regular (if not daily!) basis.

When lockdown lifts, why not consider incorporating this new found love of walking into your daily routine?  With spring around the corner and mornings and evenings already feeling lighter and warmer than before, the walk to school could become an enjoyable part of the day where you walk as you talk and digest the day's events together.  

Walking brings a whole host of benefits including improving circulation, strengthening bones, boosting your mental health, and creating a better connection with nature.  At this time of year, there are so many little changes to notice around you and each week there will be something new to see from the early spring crocuses and snowdrops to the slightly later daffodils to tulips. 

It needn't be every day, but even choosing perhaps once a week to walk to and from school will bring benefits.  You could even pick your day dependent on how good the weather is going to be!  Combine with other families to take it in turns to walk and collect children.  Some schools even have walking buses where children can join the line as it goes by their house.  Park & Stride is another initiative where if you must drive, park a little further away than you absolutely need to and walk the rest of the way to get some exercise and fresh air.  

For more information about how to teach your child to be road safe, visit think.gov.uk for more ideas and resources  

The meaning of roses

There are an abundance of roses in the shops at the moment in readiness for Valentines Day, but since when were roses a symbol for love and why are roses important?

Here are some rose facts for you:

🌹There are hundreds of different types of roses including ones that grow in bushes, on the ground, or climbing walls and fences

🌹Roses come in many different colours including red, white, pink, coral, white and peach, each one with a different meaning

🌹Roses are known for their gentle floral scent and have long been included in perfumes and confectionery 

🌹Roses are one of the oldest flowers and fossils of roses have been found from 35 million years ago

🌹Flowers have long been given as a gift to show love, and roses are particularly linked to Venus/Aphrodite who was the goddess of love in Roman/Greek times

Roses are a beautiful flower to have in the garden at any time of year and there are so many different types to choose from.  They are known for enhancing biodiversity and insects thrive on the pollen they produce.  Rose hips provide an important source of food for birds in autumn and winter, and rose bushes can make an ideal nesting place for birds and give shelter to smaller mammals. 

If you want to grow a rose in your garden, visit a rose specialist or ask someone for advice in a local garden centre.  The type of rose that may grow best may depend on your garden and how much shade or sunlight it will have.  Roses are fairly hardy plants though and with the right care and attention to pruning, they will be sure to give you an abundance of flowers all summer long 🌹

To find out more, visit the RHS's guide to growing roses.

Counting the stars

The Countryside Charity Star Count 2021 ✨

The Countryside Charity is asking people this week to get outside and count the number of stars they can see!  The survey of light pollution last year revealed that the majority of the country are living with a significant amount of light pollution which is obscuring the beauty of the night sky and preventing people from seeing stars.  The charity now wants to find out if lockdown is having an impact on the amount of light being emitted and potentially might be enabling people to see more stars than before. 

There are thought to be several benefits of a darker night sky including improved health & wellbeing, protection of wildlife, and a better connection with nature.  The night sky is not something we often focus on unless there is an unusual astronomical event happening, but it is obviously there all the time and taking a moment to appreciate its beauty can bring about a sense of calm and wonder.  

The CPRE believe that dark and starry skies are a special part of our countryside, but that buildings and streetlights affect our view of truly dark skies.  They want to ensure that everyone has a right to view a starlit sky, and to do this they want to find out exactly what different people are seeing in different parts of the country.  By collecting data, they can map out where star-spotters are seeing the darkest skies and the most stars, and they can them work with councils to decide what to do about the areas with the most light pollution.

To take part, choose a night between 6th - 14th February when the sky is clear and free of clouds.  Find the constellation known as 'Orion' (see the website link here for more info) and count how many stars you can see inside it.  Submit your results to the CPRE website and then check back to see what the results show!

Happy Stargazing!  ✨

Big Garden Birdwatch 2021

This weekend is the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch! 🐦

Birds are such an important part of the UK's ecosystem and there are around 574 different species that have been recorded around the country.  Birdlife present in all different shapes, sizes and colours and live in a variety of environments from remote coastal outcrops to busy city centres.  Among other things, they help to pollinate plants, spread seeds and control pests, as well as being a critical part of the food chain that they both consume insects and are preyed on by larger mammals.  

The UK sadly has several bird species that are endangered, including puffins, skylarks, cukoos, and the lesser spotted woodpecker.  There are also thousands of little birds such as the willow tit and house sparrow that are under threat due to habitat changes (mainly to woodlands) and climate change which can affect bird migration patterns.  

Back in October, I was lucky enough to be involved in some conservation work to manage a willow tit habitat beside a Staffordshire reservoir.  By simply altering the willow habitat slightly, it made it easier for the birds to fly into the safety and shelter of the trees, and it also helps them nest which make it more likely for them to breed successfully.  Conservation work like this is vital to giving native bird species a helping hand and a chance to thrive in the wild.

This weekend, the RSPB is calling anyone and everyone to take part in a bird counting survey in your back garden or from a balcony.  All you need to do is spend an hour watching the birds in your outdoor space and note down how many you count and what species they are.  It's a great opportunity to contribute to community science and learn a bit about what is happening with the wildlife right on your doorstep!  Visit their website here to find out more and to record your results.  Happy bird watching!  🐦

A Happy Green New Year :)

I think many of us hoped that as the clock struck midnight on the 1st January that things might start to change for the better.  Whilst I know that will be the case (eventually!), I think right now our reality is still a little distant from what we had hoped for.  

Environmental awareness seems a little lower on the agenda than it was before, but my hope is that environmental issues will not be forgotten after lockdown, and that people will become even more passionate about protecting their local green spaces and will strive to make the most of the nature that is always around them. 

If anything, lockdown is teaching us to get outside and appreciate the local wildlife on our doorsteps!  I have definitely noticed an increase in the number of people walking and biking when I go out for my walks and runs, and the little changes between seasons become even more precious and beautiful when you tune in so often to the world around you. 

Schools are having a particularly difficult time at the moment.  As someone who currently works in primary education teaching SEN children, I know the challenge of keeping the sense of school community and normality going for these young people.  However, for me I also see it as an amazing opportunity to get children excited and exploring their gardens, parks, school grounds... wherever they can get to!  Taking the time to get outside (which is definitely more germ-friendly anyway!) and learning about the world is so important and this period of time is a great opportunity to get kids involved in exploring outdoor spaces and beginning projects such as planting bulbs or making bird feeders for the winter. 

This new year, I'll be taking a bit more time to post about how to encourage green education and make your school green too, as I believe that our actions and behaviours have as much impact as any school lesson, if not more so!

Stay tuned for more #learningthroughnature this spring 🌳🌸📝