The Wee GreenSchool Pack

Introduction to creating Wildlife Projects withinschool grounds for Nursery & Primary age children.

Gill McKinnon & Sudheer Carroll

CONTENTS Page

Foreword _______________________________1/1

Acknowledgements _______________________________1/2

Why Make a Wildlife Garden? _______________________________2/1

The Greening of High School Yards _______________________________3/1

Resources: _______________________________4/1Something for nothing (or for very little!)

The One-Square-Metre Cornfield _______________________________5/1

Raising Native Wild Plants from Seeds _______________________________6/1The High School Yards Way

The Flowering Courtyard _______________________________7/1(Plus window sills)

Wildlife Garden Mini-Beast Projects _______________________________8/1

The Outdoor Aquarium: Frogs _______________________________9/1

A Winter Birdfeeding Programme ______________________________10/1

Ideas for School Visits ______________________________11/1related to the Projects in this Pack

Bibliography

1 jims g4:desktop folder:royal mailand snh joint stateme

THE WEE GREEN SCHOOL PACK

Royal Mail and Scottish Natural Heritage are pleased to continue supportingthe production of "The Wee Green School Pack". It has proved its worth overthe years, and has a valuable place in the delivery of environmental educationin Scotland.

For Royal Mail, this initiative compliments the launch of commemorativestamps such as "Fruit and Vegetables" and more recently "Birds of Prey". Inaddition, we are delighted that a stunning set of Scottish stamps "Scotland"will be available in July 2003. These stamps will highlight examples of areasof great scenic beauty, as well as natural and cultural interest, from acrossScotland.

Scottish Natural Heritage is particularly pleased that the pack will now bemore widely available throughout Scotland, and that for the first time it isavailable on CD-ROM, reducing the need to use paper. This project formspart of the support which Scottish Natural Heritage gives for promotingunderstanding and enjoyment of our surroundings, including school grounds.

We hope that this latest edition of "The Wee Green School Pack" will bring funand learning in the natural world to many more young people in Scotland.

April 2003

SCOTTISH NATURAL HERITAGE

We are a government body, responsible to the Scottish Executive Ministers,

and through them the Scottish Parliament.

We aim to secure the conservation and enhancement of Scotland s unique and precious

natural heritage and to help people enjoy it, understand it more fully, and use it wisely so

it can be sustained for future generations.

Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Mail are pleased to be able to help reprint the

Wee Green School Pack. Scottish children deserve far more than to play out on dull tar-

mac and concrete surfaces, especially when their own country is renowned throughout

the world for its natural beauty. This pack is a popular and practical guide to what can be

achieved even in a small space, with minimum resources and a bit of imagination.

Transform your school s outdoor spaces, and take learning as well as playtime outside.

Scottish Natural Heritage want to ensure that children have the best opportunities to dis-

cover the wonder of the outdoors, to encourage their innate curiosity about the natural

world from watching the smallest bugs in a damp corner of their school yard to the enjoy-

ment of helping in the garden and seeing their garden grow. We believe that such early

experiences will help our children value their outdoor surroundings, growing with them as

their horizons develop from their childhood neighbourhood to the wilder world of

Scotland s natural heritage.

Scottish Natural Heritage encourage better use and enjoyment of Scotland s school

grounds, through our School Grounds Grants Scheme, and our support of Grounds For

Learning and local school grounds partnerships.

Visit our web site at www.snh.org.uk

Our publications catalogue is available from:

SNH Publications

Battleby

Redgorton

Perth

PH1 3EW

Tel: 01738 444177

FOREWORD

This pack has been designed for nursery and primary teachers to demonstrateways that environmental education can be delivered. It is based on theexperiences of staff and pupils at High School Yards Nursery School.

The project started with a group of children at the school showing interest in thecaterpillars they discovered in the school grounds. From their early interest intheir environment, the project was developed and shows clearly how thenatural curiosity of young children provides, under the guidance of skilledadults, the basis for a rich learning experience. It also shows the role childrencan play in improving the quality of their own environment.

The work at High School Yards has aroused considerable interest and mediaattention and this pack has been produced to enable others to provide similarlearning opportunities to children in their care while improving their own localenvironment.

This pack has been produced through a fruitful partnership involving the City ofEdinburgh Council, Edinburgh Wildlife Group, Scottish Natural Heritage andRoyal Mail. I would like to thank Edinburgh Wildlife Group for their invaluableadvice and Royal Mail for their generous financial support which has made thispublication possible.

I hope you find this to be a valuable resource for your school.

Roy JobsonDirector of EducationThe City of Edinburgh Council

1/1

High School Yards Nursery School

The Wee Green School Pack has been financed by Royal Mail and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The Authors would like to thank the following for helping in many different ways:-

Norman Henderson, Formerly Head of School and Community Education, Midlothian Council

Dr Walter Stephen, Formerly Senior Adviser, Personal and Social Education,Lothian Regional Council

Wendy Dignan, Senior Adviser, Nursery/Primary Education, The City of Edinburgh Council

Fay Pascoe, Formerly Environmental Education Adviser. RSPB

The Publishers gratefully acknowledge the right to reproduce photographs

Cover Photograph, courtesy of Scotsman Publications Ltd.Page 2/2, courtesy of Stephen ArcherAll other photographs, Gill McKinnon, High School Yards Nursery SchoolSome graphics. courtesy of RSPB.

Acknowledgements

The City of Edinburgh Council

1/2

A Wildlife Garden canbe an extremely usefulresource for learning,especially in an innercity school where thechildren have so littlecontact with thecountryside and theworld of nature. Bysowing seeds, andgrowing and plantingnative wildflowers andtrees for themselves,the children learn thatthey can change theirown environment forthe better.

As the area develops itbecomes home to agreat variety of plantand insect life.Different kinds of birdsvisit it from an earlystage and, if scrub andtree cover is provided,they will beencouraged to nestthere and rear theiryoung. In the course oftime small mammalssuch as wood miceand voles may be ableto set up home. TheWildlife Area will alsoprovide manyopportunities for the

children to explore,record and measureaspects of nature. Itcan also provideopportunities for artwork, and for otherprojects over a widearea of the curriculum.

In this pack we aim toshare with you some ofthe activities andexperiences that havemade our garden atHigh School Yardssuch a rewardingproject. We hope thatyou will be encouragedto try some of theideas out foryourselves when yousee how much wehave been able toaccomplish with verylimited financialresources and, indeed,a very small area ofoutside grounds. Thesimple instructionsheets in the packshould enable even theleast ‘green-fingered’of school staff to growa range of our nativeScottish plants toperfection! Thedifferent projects that

we describe have been‘site-tested’ inapparently unpromisingparts of the city andhave created joy andinterest for a greatmany Edinburghchildren.

WHY MAKE AWILDLIFE GARDEN?

2/1

THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL

HIGH SCHOOL YARDS NURSERY SCHOOLOpen Monday-Friday from 8am-5.30pm

High School Yards NurseryOff Infirmary Street, Edinburgh

For further information:Tel No. 0131 556 6536Fax No. 0131 558 8407

e-mail address: admin@highschoolyards.edin.sch.uk

2/2

High School YardsNursery School (The Cityof Edinburgh Council) isright in the centre ofEdinburgh’s Old Town, ontop of the Flodden Wall.Heavy traffic flows paston the Pleasance and theCowgate. Our oneunobstructed view is asuperb one, of Arthur’sseat and the SalisburyCrags to the east. Theschool buildings oncehoused a universitysettlement and are builtround a small triangularcourtyard which serves asan extension to thechildren’s play space, aswell as being a containergarden and a plantnursery. Its shelteredposition makes it a sun

trap - in marked contrastto our Wildlife Gardenwhich is exposed to coldwinds off the North Sea.The site for this gardenlooked most unpromisingat the start: a steep slopecovered with subsoil andrubble supported ascattering of shrivelledweeds and one or twoailing garden shrubs.Three seasons later thechildren could look out oncolourful wildflowers andgrowing woodlandinhabited by birds andbutterflies. A tiny cornfieldyields an annual crop andwild fruits ripen in theautumn.

HOW DID THISTRANSFORMATION

HAPPEN?

The whole idea arosefrom the children’sinterest in some stripeycaterpillars, which theydiscovered on Nasturtiumleaves in a school planter.The creatures werecollected, suitably housedand fed, and watchedthrough theirmetamorphosis fromcaterpillar to chrysalis tobutterfly. They werereleased outside in thespring. Such was thechildren’s interest that wedecided to build upon thissmall experience ofnature. For this thenursery needed experthelp and approached theEdinburgh Wildlife Groupfor advice. Since thenEducation Officer,Sudheer Carroll, hasbeen working withchildren, staff and parentsat the school to developthe use of the schoolgrounds and to initiatemany exciting cross-curricular projects.

3/1

THE GREENING OFHIGH SCHOOL YARDS

INTRODUCTION

THE EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES

The creation of a Wildlife Garden at High SchoolYards is a long-term development with thefollowing aims:

* To attract wildlife for the children to investigateand study.

* To give the children experience of physicallyimproving their environment.

* To give the children a better understanding oftheir own ‘food chain’.

Since 1989, the children have planted trees, shrubs and wildflowers.The Wildlife Garden provides them with a ‘real context’ for following theprocess of food production, right through from preparing the ground tobaking bread, or making porridge. An approach to health and nutrition

follows naturally. The children have also taken part in a winter bird-feedingprogramme, have observed mini-beasts under their rotting log-pile and

have watched many butterflies, ladybirds and spiders in the naturalenvironment which we have been able to develop.

ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

THE FUTUREMore wildflowers willbe raised by thechildren and it is likelythat crop plantssuitable for feedingnursery pets (eg.sunflower seeds) willbe grown. We are stillactively experimentingwith the growing offlax: the children haveplanted seeds,harvested the crop andprocessed the fibres.

We have yet to reachthe stage of spinning,but we are alreadyplanning to grow natu-ral dye plants, and todye our own linen! TheGarden is an ongoingproject which has thepotential to engage theenthusiasm ofchildren, parents, staffand the localcommunity for a longtime to come.

Activities based on theWildlife Garden stretchacross the whole cur-riculum. Children arelearning the basis ofEnvironmental Studiesand extending theiruse and understandingof English Language inthe process. For thebeginnings ofMathematics thegarden provides youngchildren with theexperience of colour,shape, counting,matching, one-to-one

correspondence,sequencing and simplemeasuring. In Expres-sive Arts, the garden isused for a variety ofpurposes; at theglueing area all kindsof natural items (eg.thistle heads, autumnleaves, twigs, petals)chosen carefully by thechildren makeinteresting andattractive additions totheir models. Wildflowers can becollected and pressed

for mounting to creategift cards. Butterflies,birds and mini-beastsoften form a startingpoint for musical itemsor drama, and bring tolife many tales from thestory book. TheWildlife Gardenactivities also havetheir part to play inPersonal and Social,and in Religious andMoral, Education.

3/2

People often imaginethat a Wildlife Garden,being such a majorresource, will costthem more than aschool could affordthese days. In fact, theproject at High SchoolYards has been carriedout on a really lowbudget. As a fairlysmall nursery schoolwe are constantlyfund-raising, but wealso receive a lot ofsupport from nurseryparents and the localcommunity, who areboth generous andresourceful. Below youwill find oursuggestions foracquiring practically allyou will need for nextto nothing. But first,what kind of materialsare going to be usefulfor a wildlife project?

RESOURCES:SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

(OR FOR VERY LITTLE!)

FOR THE OUTDOOR GARDEN

Garden Tools: spade, border fork, rake, trowels, gardenshears, secateurs, watering-can (withrose), hose-pipe.

Accessories: slabs (for paths), bird table, nest boxes,old logs (for a mini-beast refuge),sticks/canes, bird-proof netting (to protectcrops).

FOR CONTAINER GARDENING

Containers: old ceramic sinks/troughs, wooden half-barrels, window boxes, hanging baskets,large plant pots.

Materials: potting compost or good top-soil, canes,trellis, garden twine, general fertiliser(‘Growmore’ or a liquid feed).

Tools: spade/shovel (to fill containers), smalltrowels, weeding fork, dibber, strongscissors.

FOR RAISING PLANTS FROM SEED, MINI-BEASTPROJECT, ETC.

Please consult individual project sheets in this pack.

FOR BREAD MAKING AND COOKERY

Kitchen scales with metric weights, mixing bowls, utensils,saucepans, baking tins and trays, aprons, hand-operatedcoffee-mill (to grind corn).

A large proportion of these resources will cost you very little, and those you do have tobuy will not all be needed at once. When you have planned your project, send out anewsletter with every child in the school. Tell the children and their families about yourexciting new project and ask if anyone’s Granny or Aunty is about to move house.

4/1

4/2

Often, when grand-parents are at the stage ofmoving to a smaller house or fiat, they have to getrid of most of their garden tools and are delightedto find a useful home for them; you may besurprised to obtain other things from the samesource, such as saucepans and scales for yourbaking corner

Keep a look out for old buildings and houses whichare being renovated: you may be able to pick upold ceramic sinks, tiles and slabs. Try writing todistilleries to ask if they can let you have oldwooden barrels which have served their purpose -they will often help schools. We were lucky withthis; our letter was passed from one contact toanother until we received a phone call one dayfrom a gentleman who told us that he had 6wooden half-barrels to donate to the school, butdidn’t know Edinburgh very well - could we meethim in a couple of hours at Edinburgh Zoo tocollect them? Thus we became proud owners of 6beautiful new plant tubs!

If you can develop a friendly relationship with yourlocal Parks Department they may be able to let youhave top-soil for tubs and planters. The HighwaysDepartment sometimes have broken paving slabswhich make excellent crazy paving for paths andsmall garden areas. Classified ‘ads’ in the localpaper can sometimes get you old fish tanks oraquariums. We knew of someone who made upseveral small glass tanks for our mini-beast projectat much less than the shop price. Heavy plasticisedcloth for making your own aprons, table covers, etccan be bought as ‘quality seconds’.

4/3

Don’t be shy about visiting jumble and car-bootsales, or second hand shops! Organisations suchas the Salvation Army which clear out houses, area valuable source for many things that you mayneed: when you visit one of their shops, leave a listand they will usually keep a look-out for you for aminimal charge.

Finally native Scottish plants, shrubs, trees andwildflower seeds can be bought very cheaply from

the Edinburgh Wildlife Group (see sources page11/2. A list of other seed and plant stockists can

be found in the Appendix.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR RESOURCE HUNTING!

Remember that, by doing it this way,you contribute to the cause of

Recycling - and please let us know atHigh School Yards if you find other useful sources!

THE ONE-SQUARE-METRECORNFIELD

INTRODUCTIONCity children rarely have the opportunity to experience the whole process ofproduction of basic items of diet from farm to table. Bread, or porridge/oat-cakes, provide ideal material for this purpose in the context of studies ofcountryside and wildlife. All that is needed is to earmark a square plot, onemetre on each side, in the school (wildlife) garden, choosing a sunny position.

MATERIALS

1.The ‘Cornfield’

Children’s spades, digging forksRakeHoe (a short thick stick, or a trowel, will doinstead)General fertiliser (can be organic)300g seed cornPacket(s) of seed of annual cornfield ‘weeds’Garden netting and canes/stakes to cage against birds

2.Harvesting, Milling and Baking

Strong scissors (for cutting stems)Hand-operated coffee-grinder (type with top hopper anddrawer)Recipes and requirements to make wholemeal bread, or porridge/oatcakes, depending on cereal chosen.

5/1

The chosen plot mustbe dug over and thefertiliser mixed in at therate recommended forgeneral garden use.The soil is next rakedto a tilth ready forseed-sowing, whichcan take place duringopen weather at anytime from the begin-ning of March. Theannual wildflowermixture is scatteredover the plot. Drills(furrows) are thendrawn parallel acrossthe plot at about 20cmapart, using a hoe and

the rake handle (orpegs and string).The300g of seed corn isspread evenly andneatly along the drills,which are covered bydrawing soil acrossfrom either side andpatting it down firmly.It is important not toleave any seed cornexposed as this willattract pigeons whichare quite capable offinding and consumingthe rest of the seed! Infact, it may be better tonet the plot at thisstage rather than wait

until there are ripeningears. The scruffy citypigeons at High SchoolYards sat on top of theFlodden Wall watchingthe children sowingtheir wheat. As soonas the work wascomplete, down camethe birds and began todig up the newlyplanted grain. Our localbirds have markedgastronomicpreferences and haveso far shown nointerest in barley oroats!

Very little needs to bedone until the cerealripens. If the plot is inany danger of beingwalked on, it is a goodidea to make atemporary ‘fence’ with

canes and string. Incase of prolonged dryweather the crop maybenefit from a thoroughwatering now andagain. During thesummer the various

wild cornfield annualswill start to flower andattract insect life, whichcan be utilised inlearning projects.

The corn is ready forcutting once the earshave lost all their greencolour and the seedsare hard inside- if you are in doubt itis best to rub out a fewgrains and test themwith your finger nail, orbetween the teeth.

Grain which is slightlyunripe will block thecoffee grinder insteadof milling into flour. Thechildren will experienceno difficulty in ‘reaping’the corn with strongscissors, but theyshould worksystematically across

the plot to avoidtrampling onunharvested stems. Ifyou want to make asheaf the straw mustbe cut near theground, otherwise itwill save trouble just tocut off the ears.

5/2

PREPARATION & SOWING

CARE DURING THE GROWING SEASON

HARVESTING

Grain can be extractedfrom the ears byrubbing them betweenthe palms of thehands. Another way isto lay the ears on ahard table top and put

a wooden rolling-pinover them, or simplybeat them with a pieceof wood (with duecaution!).

THRESHING

To separate grain fromchaff, just blow thechaff away. It is betterfor children to do thiswith a simple fan, as

over-enthusiastic onesmay get too close andinhale chaff if usingtheir mouth to blow.

WINNOWING

Do not expect toproduce enough flourto make a loaf fromsuch a small plot. It isenough that thechildren see how flourcomes from the seedsof the cereal, and thatgrinding it requires aquite a lot of energy.The flour which theyproduce can be com-

pared with, and thenadded to, a boughtwholemeal samplesufficient for the breadrecipe. (Similarly, theiroat flour can be com-bined with commercialoatmeal.)

MILLING

Many bags of shop-bought wholemealbread flour (‘hard’flour) have breadrecipes printed onthem, as do packets of‘fast action’ yeast.

However, it is moreinteresting andinstructive for thechildren to use freshyeast from a bakery,rather than the ‘fastaction’ type, becausein preparing it they will

learn by experiencethat they are dealingwith a living micro-organism. You can trythe simple, whole-mealbread recipe givenbelow, or use one ofyour own.

BAKING

5/3

RECIPE FOR WHOLEMEAL BREAD

750g wholemeal bread flour (‘hard’ flour)2 X 5ml spoons salt15g butter (or margarine)450ml warm water (1 part boiling water to 2 parts cold water)15g fresh baker’s yeast

Mix the yeast with some of the water till smooth and then add to the rest of thewater to make an even suspension.Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl and rub in the butter. Make a wellin the dry mixture and pour in the yeast liquid. Stir with a wooden spoon andthen knead with the hands until a firm dough results.Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes untilsmooth and elastic.Put the ball of dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and leave in a warmplace to rise until the volume has doubled.Turn out the dough, knead again for 2 to 3 minutes and divide into loaf shapes(this amount is enough for a 1kg loaf tin).Place in well greased tin(s) and let rise again until doubled in volume. Bake in apreheated oven at 200˚C for about 30 minutes, reduce heat and remove whennicely browned.Turn out of the tin(s) on to a wire rack to cool.(If the loaf gives a hollow sound when tapped it is ready.)

At High School Yards we went on to try different kinds of bread from otherparts of the world (our children come from a variety of racial and cultural back-

grounds). An Italian parent from Sicily told us how to make ‘St Joseph’sBread’, eaten there on special occasions. Here is his recipe:

ROCCO’S RECIPE FOR ST JOSEPH’S BREAD

Prepare the dough as above, but using white bread flour. Form the dough intoshort, wide baton shapes which should be sprinkled generously over the topwith sesame seeds. The second rising is done on a well greased baking sheet.Put in a preheated oven as before, but check rate of cooking after 15 to 20minutes.

5/4

SCHOOL PROJECT WORK RELATED TO THEONE-SQUARE-METRE CORNFIELD

The cornfield can be a valuable adjunct to work in a variety of areas of thecurriculum:

* Old and modern farming. Seedtime and harvest.Production and use of different grains. The countryside.

* Milling. Querns. Wind-and water-mills.Development of powered machinery; visit to local water-mill.

* Malting and brewing. Distilling. Scottish industries; local visits.

* Scottish rural life and customs.

* Wildlife of the fields. Insects. Pollination.Native mammals and birds.

* Religious education: New Testament parables.

5/5

We decided to include this word-list as a help for school staff, who may well notbe familiar with all the details of life on the land. A quick run through it willcertainly put you in a better position to answer those awkward questions whicheven young children sometimes come up with!

CEREALS are annual grasses which human beings have selected and bredover 1000s of years for their large edible seeds.

CORN in Britain this is a general term for a cereal crop. The kind of cerealswhich can be grown in the Lothians are:

BARLEY - the cereal you are most likely to see in the fields. It is usedto make malt for beer and whisky production, and to feedanimals.

OATS - not seen so often, this cereal was very important in pasttimes. It provides oat-meal for porridge and bannocks (oat-cakes). Oats also give a nourishing feed for horses.

RYE - rarely grown nowadays. Rye is the best cereal for cold, wetclimates but people do not find it as palatable as wheat.

WHEAT - this cereal can be recognised by its solid spike-like seedheads which do not have long ‘whiskers’. Wheat providesthe flour for the bread we eat every day. It needs a warmsite.

CEREALS AND HARVEST TIME:A VOCABULARY

5/6

There are special words for the things that are done to the corn during andafter harvest time:

BINDING - tying the cut stems of corn into convenient bundles.

THRESHING - breaking up the seed heads to extract the seed. In the olddays this had to be done by hand:FLAIL - 2 lengths of wood joined end to end with a

leather hinge and used to beat the cerealheads.

REAPING - cutting the stems of the corn in the field. In more primitivetimes this was done with hand-tools:SCYTHE -a great improvement on the sickle, this has

a long handle and a straighter blade near theground. It is held with 2 hands.

SICKLE - a hook-shaped knife with a handle.

WINNOWING - separating the cereal seeds from broken material, scales,weed seeds, etc. In olden times this would be done bythrowing the threshed material into the air on a windy day, oron a small scale by using a FAN.

MILLING - this is the process of turning the cereal seeds into meal orflour. The seeds have to be ground up between 2 stones or(nowadays) steel rollers.

QUERN - a simple hand-operated mill. In the mostancient form a stone was held at each sideand pushed and pulled across another stone -this was hard work! It is called a SADDLE QUERN.The querns you will usually see in museums have 2round stones, resting one on the other. The upperstone has a hole in the middle to feed the seedthrough, and a socket for a wooden handle to turnit round.

5/7

In modern farming the traditional tasks associated with the grain harvest havebeen taken over by machines, which have gradually become larger and morecomplex as power sources have improved.

REAPER - one of the earliest devices for speeding up theharvesting process was invented by the ancientCelts. Their cereal varieties had very long stemsand the fields were full of weeds. They developeda kind of 2-wheeled hand-cart with wooden teethalong the top at the front. When this was pushedthrough the field it tore off the seed heads whichfell back into the cart.

REAPER & BINDER - this machine combined the cutting and subsequenttying of the corn into one process. It was pulledacross the field by horses and took its power fromthe movement of its wheels over the ground. Laterversions were pulled by tractors.

THRESHING MACHINE - this large machine could thresh and winnow thecrop, separating the grain and filling it into sacksready for milling. It was a stationary machinepowered by a separate engine. The corn had to bebrought to it.

COMBINE HARVESTER - this is a large (sometimes very large) self-propelledmachine which can move around the field cutting,threshing and winnowing the corn as it goes. Itdischarges the grain into a trailer pulled by a tractordriving alongside, or directly into a lorry.

SILO - a giant tank used to store grain on a large farm, orat a modern flour-mill. A silo usually looks like atower.

5/8

Here are some more useful words associated with cereals:

AWN - a name for the ‘whiskers’ found on the seed-heads of barleyand other cereals. Barley awns are brittle when dry and havelittle teeth along them: the broken bits can be quite irritatingto the skin.

BERE - an old word for Barley. It is the origin of the word ‘beer’ (adrink brewed from barley).

CHAFF - the dry, scaly parts which surround the seeds in the head.The chaff is removed by winnowing.

EAR - the usual name for the spike-like seed head of a cereal.

GRAIN - unmilled cereal seeds in bulk.

LODGING - sometimes after wet, stormy weather you will see areas ofripening corn laid flat.This is called ‘lodging’ and makes problems at harvest time.Modern cereal varieties are bred to have short straw whichgives them better weather resistance.

SEED-CORN - cereal seeds set aside for sowing the next crop.

SHEAF - a bundle of unthreshed cereal stems.

STOOK - a group of sheaves stacked together in the field. They arerarely seen these days.

STRAW - the dry stems of the cereal, left after threshing. Straw canbe used for animal bedding and some other purposes, but itis not worth much and has often been burnt on the field toget rid of it. If it is left to rot and then ploughed in, it canpass on fungal diseases to the next crop. The farmer thenhas to use extra chemical sprays to keep his crop healthy.

NOTE: many of the terms used by farmers have regional variations whichcannot be covered in this list

5/9

Growing plants from seed has nearly always been part of a school’s curriculum,especially with children in nursery and infant classes. Most school staff havetheir own particular methods and resources for raising plants with children. AtHigh School Yards, the children managed to grow and transplant many differentvarieties of wildflowers, including Ox-eye Daisies, Common Toadflax andCornflower. Below is our ‘fool-proof’ method, described as completely aspossible: so, good luck with your gardening!

MATERIALS1. Half-size seed trays (one for each packet to be

sown).2. Labels and waterproof pen.3. John Innes No.1 compost (this soil-based compost

is designed for raising seedlings).4 Half-tray propagator covers (from all good garden

centres).5. Wooden block (to level compost in trays).6. Watering-can fitted with a fine rose (small holes).7. Small plant pots - disposable plastic drinking cups,

yoghurt cartons, etc can be used provided drainageholes are made in the bottom.

8. Wildflower seeds (see appendix for suppliers)

RAISING NATIVE WILDPLANTS FROM SEEDS

THE HIGH SCHOOLYARDS WAY

6/1

Break up any lumps inthe compost as itcomes from the bag.Fill the tray nearly tothe top with loosecompost and press itgently into the corners(not all over!) toprevent hollowsdeveloping later. Now

fill loosely to the brimof the tray and strikethe compost off level.Take the wooden blockand use it to press thecompost to give aneven, level surface:when doing this becareful not to compactthe compost too much

- the pressure of onefinger on the block issufficient. Usingseveral quick ‘passes’with the watering-can,wet the compostthoroughly.

Most seed of perennialwildflowers requiressome exposure to lowtemperatures to bringabout germination. Thetrays, with transparentcovers, should bestood outdoors in ashaded site until tinyseedlings begin toappear. Once theseedlings have fourleaves the propagator

covers can be takenoff. The best time forsowing is from the endof January to themiddle of March. Onceuncovered, the trays ofyoung seedlings mustnot be allowed to dryout, or to becometotally waterlogged.The time from sowingto germinationdepends on the type of

plant as well asweather conditions. Itmay vary from 5 daysto 5 months, so bepatient!

GERMINATION

Cup the palm of yourless dextrous hand andpour some of the seedinto it. Use the fingerand thumb of the otherhand to take pinches ofseed and scatter themthinly and evenly overthe surface of the

compost in the tray.Don’t sow too thickly itwill make transplantingthe seedlings verydifficult later on. Do notcover the seed; mostwild plants germinatebetter when a little lightfalls on the seeds.

Instead, cover the traywith a propagator lidtied on with gardentwine or string (againstwind).

SOWING THE SEED

PREPARING THE SEED TRAY

6/2

Young seedlings mustonly be handled bytheir leaves. Damageto the fragile stemcauses sudden death.The seedlings areready to move oncethey have 4 or moreleaves. Leaving themtoo long in the trayleads to overcrowding,poor growth anddifficulty intransplanting. If thereis a good stand ofseedlings at the samestage of development,transplant them in onego. Support thecompost surface onthe finger-tips of onehand and turn the trayupside down to turnout the whole root

mass. Tease outindividual seedlings forpricking out(transplanting) bygently breaking up thecompost.Fill each pot loosely tothe brim with freshcompost and give it afew taps on the tableto settle it. Make a holefor the seedling (with afinger, or an old pencil)to the depth of itsroots. Suspend aseedling in the holeand lightly push thecompost in around it,adding more asnecessary.The seed-ling must be planted tothe same level as

previously - don’t buryleaves. There needs tobe a small gapbetween the top of thepot and the compostlevel to allow foreffective watering.If only a few seedlingsare ready in the tray,they can be carefullydug out with a suitableimplement such as anold blunt kitchen knife,retaining as much rootas possible.

TRANSPLANTING THE SEEDLINGS

AFTERCAREKeep the seedlings ina sheltered place, outof direct sunlight, untilthey show signs ofcontinuing growth.Keep them watered indry weather, and watchout for pests such asslugs in the earlystages. They can beplanted into permanentpositions in the wildlife

garden with handtrowels once their rootsjust fill the pot and alldanger of frost is past.If transplanting has tobe delayed for a longtime the young plantswill benefit from aweekly application ofliquid fertiliser.

6/3

Although they arerelatively cheap, thepeat-based compostswidely available fromgarden-centres do notgive good results inoutdoor planters. Thepeat too easilybecomes waterloggedand compacted in wetweather; in dryweather it can dry outcompletely and shrink,making rewetting verydifficult.

Ordinary garden top-soil is also a poorchoice because it will

contain lots of weedseeds and is unlikely tohave the right texturewithout the addition ofother materials; theseare going to varyaccording to the kindof top-soil you have.

Soil-based composts ofthe ‘John Innes’ typegive a much bettermedium for plant rootsand are sterilised to killsoil-born diseases andweed seeds. Choose‘JI’ No.2 or 3 for use inwildflower planters.

It is possible to mix anacceptable compostyourself using 3 partscomposted Forest Bark(from garden centres,made by ICI), 1 part JlNo.3,1 parthorticultural grit-sand.This may work out a bitcheaper than usingplain JI compost and isworth considering ifyou have several largecontainers to plant.

THE FLOWERINGCOURTYARD

(PLUS WINDOWSILLS!)

INTRODUCTION

Our outdoor growing space at High School Yards is really quite small and wetry to make use of every available corner in the Internal Courtyard. Some partsget the sunshine for much of the school day (when the sun decides to shine),while other parts are totally shaded. We found that the key to success lies ingrowing wildflowers in the places that resemble their natural homes:this is just as important for ‘container’ gardening as it is in the open ground.Further on, there are some lists to help you, and to ensure that the children willnot be disappointed with their gardening work. First though, a few tips on thebest sorts of soil to use, and on how to fill a planter for good results. You willfeel well rewarded for the small extra trouble when your first summer butterfliesarrive outside the window!

THE RIGHT SOIL

7/1

You must fix windowboxes securely to thebuilding if they arehigher than groundfloor level. On asloping window-sill youmay have to set thebox on woodenwedges to keep it level.The container you usemust have drainageholes in the bottom(unless you intend togrow wetlandwildflowers!).

It should also be stoodon bricks, low woodenblocks or the like, toensure that excesswater can escape.Cover the holes withbroken crocks orstones and add a layerof coarse fibrousmaterial. Then fill withcompost to about 3cmbelow the top edge, toallow retention spacewhen watering.If the children are

planting up with pot-grown wildflowers, putthe plants in as thecontainer is being filledwith soil. Make surethat the plants finish inthe compost at thesame level as whenthey were growing intheir original pots: ifplanted too shallow thesurface roots will dryout and die; if plantedtoo deep the stemsmay rot.

Plants growing incontainers dry outmore quickly thanthose in the openground and the needfor watering must bechecked regularly,especially in hotweather and when theplants have filled theirgrowing space. If youhave used a JohnInnes compost, feedingshould not benecessary for at least2 months. After that aliquid feed can be usedas required (follow themanufacturer’sinstructions).

Sooner or later ‘weed’seeds will arrive inyour planter. Removethe seedlings as theyappear. Although theyare themselveswildflowers, in thegood soil of the planterthey will compete withthe ones you havechosen to grow andmay crowd them outaltogether.

PREPARING THE WINDOW-BOX OR PLANTER

AFTER- CARE

7/2

1. Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus.)

A low-growing bushy perennial with heads of red tingedbright yellow flowers all summer. Its name in Scots is‘Craw’s Taes’, a reference to the clusters of pointedseed pods.

2. Common Rock Rose (Helianthemum nummularuim)This small shrubby plant is not a Rose at all. It hasround yellow flowers which are individually short-livedbut replaced by new blooms in rapid succession. It is asummer-flowering inhabitant of hill pastures and isfound on Arthur’s Seat.

3. Cowslip (Primula veris)

A well-loved relative of the Primrose which thrives in arather more dry and sunny site. It is becomingincreasingly rare in the countryside. The clusters ofsmall, but showy, golden flowers have an apricot scent.

4. Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides)

The plant forms a low mat of neat, dark green foliagefrom which stems arise bearing bright pink flowers withserrated petals. It flowers from mid to late summer.

5. Mouse-Ear Hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella)

A fairly common, but decorative and long-flowering,plant of stony waste places. Its rosettes of small hairyleaves soon form clumps and produce a succession of‘daisies’ in a luminous lemon-yellow, from late springthrough to autumn.

6. Thrift (Armeria maritima)

A seaside plant, frequently seen on cliff tops in EastLothian, that is well worth growing for its drumstickflower-heads of delicate pink. The foliage resemblesminiature tussocks of grass. It can flower all summer.

7. Wallflower (Cheiranthus cheiri)

The wild form of the well known Wallflower can be seengrowing on the rock faces below Edinburgh Castle. It isan attractive plant in its own right and its deep yellowflowers, born in spring and early summer, are sweetlyscented.

7 BEST SCOTTISH WILDFLOWERSFOR WINDOW-BOXES

7/3

1. Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)This wayside plant spreads rather vigorously, but itsspikes of yellow and orange flowers are invaluable inlate summer and autumn. The foliage is a nice bluish-green as well.2. Dames Violet (Hesperis matronalis)In late spring the softly hairy leaf rosettes produce tallbranching stems with lavender or white 4-petalledflowers. These are very decorative, but the plant comesinto its own in the evening when it can fill a courtyardwith its perfume.3. Field Scabious (knautia arvensis)The soft blue ‘pincushion’ flower-heads of this plantmake a marvellous contrast in late summer with theCommon Toadflax. Field Scabious is attractive tobutterflies such as the Small Tortoiseshell and the RedAdmiral.4. Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratense)Goat’s Beard has all the advantages of a ‘super-Dandelion’ without the drawbacks! The leaves are sograsslike that the plant can be hard to find in the wildwhen it is not in flower. The large ‘Dandelion’ headsopen in the earlier part of the day. The seed ‘clocks’ area shiny brown and the individual ‘parachutes’ are large.The medium-sized, yellow flowers appear in summer.5. Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratense)Some native wildflowers are so decorative that theyhave been adopted into our gardens as selectedvarieties, and the Meadow Cranesbill is one of these.The wild form with its large blue-purple flowers in latesummer is still well worth growing. The ‘exploding’ seedpods are an interesting feature.6. Musk Mallow (Malva moschata)Another valued plant, the Musk Mallow makes a lovelyshow in high summer. Its delicate pink (sometimeswhite) salver-shaped flowers have a silky appearance.7. Ox-Eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) The Ox-Eye, or ‘Gowan’ in Scots, is one of the showiestand easiest to grow of wildflowers. The large white,yellow-centred daisies will flower from early summeronwards.

7 BEST SCOTTISH WILDFLOWERSFOR A SUNNY PLANTER

7/4

1. Bugle (Ajuga reptans)

This is a creeping plant with fresh green, shiny, leavesand spikes of blue flowers in the spring. As well, asbeing pretty it makes a good ground cover and will trailover the sides of a planter.

2. Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

Probably the easiest to grow of the ‘Queen Ann’sLace’-type flowers, Cow Parsley provides a nice showin the spring with its flat white heads of bloom and hasattractive ferny foliage as well.

3. Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium)

Although Feverfew is often to be found in gardens aswell as in the wild, it is not to be despised as a plant fortubs. It thrives in partial shade and its white and yellowdaisies make a good display all summer. It has thebonus of being an important herbal remedy for migraine- eat one or two leaves with bread and butter.

4. Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

The delicate pale lemon flowers of the Primrose are awelcome sign of spring, and provided it gets the moist,shady conditions that it loves it is easy to grow.

5. Purple Toadflax (Linaria purpurea)

If you are one of those gardeners who sometimesforgets to do the watering on time, this plant is one ofthe least likely to die on you! It sends up tall willowyspikes of tiny purple ‘Snapdragons’ in the latter part ofthe summer, with narrow grey-green foliage. Onesometimes finds a pretty salmon pink form.

6. Red Campion (Silene dioica)

This plant must be regarded as indispensable. Thebright pink flowers are born in branching sprays fromspring right through to autumn.

7. Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)

It may be one of the smaller native plants but the WildStrawberry gives double value in the wildlife planter -neat sprays of white flowers in the spring and deliciousfruits for the birds (or the gardener!) in summer.

7 BEST SCOTTISH WILDFLOWERSFOR A SHADED PLANTER

7/5

Children love turningover an apparentlydead piece of woodand finding theunderside covered withsecretive “creepy-crawlies”. Choose ashady corner of theGarden where you canpile up a heap of oldlogs and leave them torot. At least some ofthe logs should be justsmall enough for achild to turn over. Logswith some bark left onthem are best. This logpile will rapidly (in thecourse of a few

weeks)become home to agreat many kinds ofmini-beast. You canexpect to haveavailable: slaters(woodlice), spiders,ground beetles,centipedes, millipedes,slugs, snails, andearthworms. As abonus, colourful smallfungi can appear onthe damp wood.

WILDLIFE GARDENMINI-BEAST PROJECTS

INTRODUCTION

This whole project of a Wildlife Garden arose fromthe children’s interest in mini-beasts. In designingthe Wildlife Garden, we have tried to include thekind of homes and food resources, which thesesmall creatures need. The many varieties, whichmake a temporary or permanent home there offerus a rich source of new educational experiencesfor the children. The notes which follow are aimedat helping you to increase the range of mini-beastsavailable in your school grounds, and should pro-vide some ideas for classroom projects as well.

THE LOG PILE

8/1

A judicious choice ofScottish wild plants inyour Wildlife Gardenshould extend therange of butterfly andmoth caterpillars whichcan find homes there.At High School Yards,some small Goat Wil-lows were planted and,in the first summer, noless than three differ-ent varieties of cater-pillar were collected onthem.

Most butterflies prefera particular kind ofplant, while some arelimited to a single hostspecies. Scotland’s

most colourful nativebutterfly, the SmallTortoiseshell, dependssolely on StingingNettles (but you needquite a large patch toget them to lay eggsthere). The attractiveOrange Tip, flying inthe late spring, is oneof the “white” butter-flies which need plantsof the Cabbage Familyfor their caterpillars.You don’t need to sac-rifice your Broccoli ifyou plant Garlic Mus-tard and Lady’sSmock! The leaves ofthe Goat Willow andHawthorn attract many

kinds of moth to laytheir eggs. Vetchesand Vetchlings, whichbelong to the PeaFamily, provide food forthe caterpillars of thepretty Common Bluebutterfly. Beware ofplanting Bush Vetch(Vicia sepium), how-ever, because its vig-orous undergroundrunners will come upall over the garden.You will see somegrasses in the plantlist: these are neededby butterflies like theMeadow Brown.

ENCOURAGING CATERPILLARS

8/2

A LIST OF WILD PLANTS FOR SCOTTISH CATERPILLARS

COMMON NAME BOTANICAL NAME COL. SEAS.Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus y smCharlock Sinapis arvensis y sp/smCocksfoot Dactylis glomerata g smGarlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata w smGoat Willow Salix caprea g/y spHawthorn Crataegus monogyna w sp/smHedge Mustard Sisymbrium officinale y sp/smMeadow Grass Poa pratensis g smMeadow Vetchling Lathyrus pratensis y smStinging Nettle Urtica dioica g smSheep’s Fesue Festuca ovina g smSorrel Rumex acetosa g/r sm

KEY: COL. = colour of flowerSEAS = season of floweringb = blueg = greenp = purple or lilacr = red or pinkw = whitey = yellow or creamsp = springsm = summerau = autumn

Caterpillars can be collected and kept in the class room in any suitabletransparent container so that the children can watch their development tochrysalis and emergence as winged adults. The container should have aventilated lid and be kept out of direct sunlight. Fresh leaves of the host plantmust be provided regularly and a reasonably moist atmosphere maintained inyour ‘vivarium’.

8/3

Many kinds of flyinginsect rely on thenectar and pollensupplied by wildflowers, and yourGarden should containa good selection ofthese. Honey Bees,Butterflies and Mothsneed nectar, whereaswild Bumble Bees feedon pollen which theyalso take for theirlarvae. Hoverflies,

named for their abilityto ‘hang’ in oneposition in the air, visitwild flowers in largenumbers and needblooms with a flat,open shape such asCorn Poppies and themembers of the DaisyFamily. Among theHoverflies you can finddifferent specieswhich mimic waspsand bees (hoverflies

have no stings them-selves). Always try toinclude a plant or twoof Wild Angelica in theGarden because it is amagnet on warmsummer days for theorange Soldier Beetle,which congregates formating on the flowerheads.

A LIST OF WILD PLANTS TO ATTRACT FLYING INSECTS

COMMON NAME BOTANICAL NAME COL. SEAS.Angelica, Wild Angelica sylvestris r/w smBirdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus y smButterfly Bush Buddleja davidii p sm/auClover, Wild Red Trifolium pratense r sp/smCowslip Primula veris y spDame’s Violet Hesperis matronalis w/p smHemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum p sm/auOx-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare w smPrimrose Primula vulgaris y spScabious, Devil’s-bit Succisa pratensis b sm/auScabious, Field Knautia arvensis b sm/auThistle, Melancholy Cirsium helenloides p smThistle, Welted Carduus acanthoides p smValerian, red Centranthus ruber r sm

KEY: as for previous plant list: see above.

ENCOURAGING FLYING INSECTS

8/4

These creatures withtheir unusual life-formare of great interest toyoung children and canbe kept in theclassroom for shortperiods. Outdoors thesnail needs dampshady conditionsduring the daytime andenough calcium in theenvironment forbuilding its shell; this isno problem at HighSchool Yards, wherethe garden is sur-rounded by old build-ings. If you think there

is a problem in yourparticular WildlifeGarden, bring in somelumps of old concreteand dump them in ashady corner.An old glass fish-tankmakes a good, indoor,snail environment. Itwill need a removablelid to prevent the snailsfrom escaping. Coverthe bottom with a layerof damp soil with twigs,stones and decayingleaves. The snails willneed fresh lettuceleaves, and other soft,

juicy vegetable matterto eat. If the insidesurface of the glass atthe front of the tank ispainted with a thin mixof flour and water thechildren can watch thesnails crawling acrossit, eating as they go.Children should beencouraged to look outfor snail’s eggs, so thatthese can be observedand their developmentrecorded.

Earthworms areanother kind of mini-beast whose activitieswe have watched inthe classroom. An idealcontainer for wormwatching would be afairly deep and narrowbox with front and backmade of clear plasticor glass, but anytransparent jar or smallfish-tank will suffice.Fill the container withlayers of moist earthseparated by thinlayers of sand, rottingleaves, peat compost,etc. Several worms canbe kept in this for 10days or so before

returning them to theoutdoor environment.The worms will burrowand eat their waythrough the differentlayers, creating smalltunnels and graduallymixing the materialstogether. The wormswill also drag smallpieces of plant materialunderground if theseare left on the surface.

If a worm is carefullyremoved and laid on asheet of paper thechildren can work outhow it moves. Gentlystroked from head totail with a finger tip the

worm feels smooth, butstroked in the otherdirection it feels slightlyrough. Tiny stiff hairsenable the worm tohold on while it propelsitself through the soilby contracting andextending its body.These hairs can justbe heard (by thosewith sharp ears) scrap-ing on the paper as itmoves forward.

SNAILS

A WORMERY

8/5

Please remember thata Wildlife Gardenshould not be tidied upin autumn as much asan ordinary garden -hibernating (and non-hibernating) creaturesneed some plant mate-rial for winter shelter.Leave some old hollow

stems about. Althoughwildflower meadowshave to be cut and thecuttings taken away inautumn, don’t cutcloser than 10cm. Youcan leave one or twoclumps of ‘caterpillargrasses’ (such asCocksfoot) uncut

somewhere in thegarden for any over-wintering caterpillars ofthe Meadow Brown.

A NOTE ABOUT MINI-BEASTS AND WILDLIFE GARDENING

8/6

The ideal container isone of the old-fashioned ceramicsinks with a flat bottomand straight sides; itneed not be very large.Such sinks are widelyavailable from therenovation and demoli-tion of old buildings.You will also need 4blocks of some kind toraise the sink off theground a bit so that itcan stand level (other-wise the drain outletwill be in the way).Seal the plug hole sothat it is water-tight andcover the bottom of thesink with a layer ofgravel. Next, create a

‘cave’ by supporting alarge flat stonehorizontally on otherstones. This is an ‘air-raid shelter’ fortadpoles (see below)!Now you are ready tofill the sink with water.Tap water is perfectlyOK but leave the filledsink for 24 hoursbefore adding anyplants and animals toallow the chlorine inthe water to disperse.

THE OUTDOOR AQUARIUM:FROGS

INTRODUCTIONChildren love “messing about” with water and those at High School Yards areno exception. The small creatures that inhabit a watery environment have anequal fascination for them (not to mention the educational value), but realponds are far too much of a hazard for small children. This project sheet ex-plains how it is possible to use an old sink or similar container as a home fortadpoles and other pond creatures. Our children named it the “outdooraquarium” and it is tucked into a shady corner of the Internal Courtyard, a goodpoint when space is at a premium. When under direct observation by children,it is always supervised by an adult, and at other times can be viewed throughthe window.

SETTING UP THE AQUARIUM

9/1

All pond creaturesdepend on plant life fortheir survival. Under-water plants provideoxygen and food, soyour success dependson an adequateplanting, even in asmall container.Canadian Pondweed,Elodea canadensis, isreadily available fromlarger garden centresand from aquariumsuppliers, but otherhardy ‘aerators’ arejust as suitable.

Ideally, a bunch ofaerator shoots is tiedtogether at the bottomwith a small weightadded and droppedinto the water, but in asmall sink a goodbunch of loose stemscan be put in as theyare. You need enoughaerator plants to halffill the container. TheOutdoor Aquarium willlook more attractive ifyou put a shallow-water, aquaticflowering plant in a

small, plastic, plantingbasket in one corner.Try to choose a nativeScottish plant for this,and remember to use aproper ‘aquaticcompost’, or your sinkwill turn green withalgae and all thecreatures in it willeventually die! Aquaticcompost is basically amixture of dried,crushed clay subsoiland sand - you canmake it yourself. Don’tadd fertiliser!

This is where you haveto be a bit careful ifyour particular interestis in raising youngfrogs from frog-spawncollected in the spring.It might seem like agood idea to start theAquarium with waterand mud from anestablished pond, BUTthere are several pond

creatures which relisha good meal oftadpole, for instancethe voracious Dragon-fly larva and the GreatDiving Beetle. Unlessyou are sharp-eyedand an experiencedpond-dipper avoidmixtures from the wildin a container pond! Itis a good idea, though,

to add water snailswhich will help to keepdown excess algae. Infact, you will besurprised to find howmany small watercreatures will arrive inthe course of timeunder their own steam- this is part of theeducational fun.

PLANTING

MINI-BEASTS FOR THE OUTDOOR AQUARIUM

9/2

You would be veryunlucky if you had nopupils or parents whocould bring you somefrogspawn in jar in thespring. It is alright totake small quantities ofspawn from the wild,but don’t take toomuch. Remember thatyou are duty bound toreturn the little frogs tothe wild once they areready to leave thewater, unless you havea suitable habitat onyour site. Frogs needdamp, shaded cranniesfor shelter andhibernation, and asource of live insectsfor food; there must be

water nearby.At our Nursery a youngfrog escaped andfound a permanenthome for itself in thedamp darkness underone of the Courtyardplanters. It wasdiscovered alive andwell the followingspring, to the delight ofthe children.In the Aquarium thedeveloping tadpolesneed somewhere toshelter from outsidepredators. Now for aconfession-the firstsummer, we did notgive our tadpoles aproper hiding placeand, to our horror, we

found blackbirds takingtadpoles from the wa-ter to feed their youngnestlings. We had toconsole ourselves withthe thought that it wasa practical introductionto Food Chains.Tadpoles can feedperfectly well on weedsbut SMALL amounts ofdry fish food mayspeed theirdevelopment; Daphniafrom an aquariumsupplier are a goodidea. NEVER put inbits of meat for thembecause it will turn thewater foul.

TADPOLES

After CareOur miniature pond has required very little attention, apart from removing someof the plant growth when it gets too dense. In very dry spells in summer thewater needs occasional topping up.

9/3

Whether your schoolgrounds are sur-rounded by fields andwoods, or by factoriesand tenements, this isa simple and sure wayto bring an experienceof the natural world tothe children. From thetime of the first major

frosts at the beginningof November until thenesting season at thebeginning of March,birds will fly in for aregular daily supply ofappropriate foods.Various kinds will visityour birdtable/feedingarea and provide you

with opportunities forsimple identification,recording and expres-sive art activities.

A WINTER BIRDFEEDINGPROGRAMME

FEED THE BIRDS!An early success in our Wildlife Garden was a project to attract more birds intothe area during the winter. The Garden still looked rather bare at that stage andall we had seen were the local sparrows and pigeons which are hardly fussyabout their diet and surroundings. One of our parents made us a very smartbirdtable on a pole with a little roof to keep rain and snow from washing awaythe food. It was set up in the Garden in full view of the dining room windows.

Every morning, once the cold weather had arrived, a small party of children(well wrapped against the east wind) made their way out clutching the day’ssupply of mixed bird foods. We also made fatty ‘bird cakes’ from our ownversion of the BBC’s ‘Blue Peter’ recipe (see below) in the hope that some Titsmight find us at our inner city site. Well, we need not have worried. By the timespring arrived, our eager young bird-watchers had seen 10 different birdspecies feeding at our table. The dining room became our ‘hide’, with colourfulbird books on the windowsills for identification, and one or two old pairs ofbinoculars to give the children a really close view. Each day they learnt to countthe Blue Tits and Chaffinches, which we recorded on a simple chart. Of course,the greedy city Pigeons kept on coming but the variety of different foods broketheir previous monopoly.

STARTING YOUR OWN BIRD FEEDINGPROGRAMME

10/1

Birds like an all roundview of what may becreeping up on them(cats!). A table raisedon a pillar or set on awindowsill alsoprovides a focus forobservation and keeps‘mess’ to a minimum.Making a table canoften be undertaken asa woodwork project

within the school. For awindowsill table it ispossible to obtain aself-adhesive, plastic,one-way viewing filmwhich can be appliedto the window pane.(This material is called‘Magico’ or ‘ReflectoLite’ and can beobtained in rolls fromgood glass

merchants). The chil-dren can then watchthe birds at closequarters withoutdisturbing them. Birdsappreciate thepresence of perchingpoints on bushes, wallsetc. in the vicinity ofthe table, where theycan wait their turn tofeed.

White bread, stalecake and kitchenscraps will only bringyou city scavangers,such as Pigeons,House Sparrows,Starlings and BlackHeaded Gulls. Toincrease the variety ofvisitors you must pro-vide a range of morenatural foods. Mostpet-stores can sell you‘wild birdseed’ in bulkand this makes a goodbasis for the dailyfeeding programme.

To this you can addapple, chopped small- the birds will not mindif the fruit is turningbrown. Wild fruitscollected by the chil-dren are an ideal foodsource: Haws, Elderberries, Rose hips andRowan berries arenon-poisonous foreager young pickersand can be stored inplastic bags. Net-bagsfilled with unsaltedpeanuts and/or mixedseeds can be

purchased and hungfrom the table, or froma nearby tree branch.Several kinds of birdwill perform acrobaticshanging from the netand pecking at thecontents. Tits enjoysome animal fat intheir winter diet, hencethe ‘bird cake’. Alwaysavoid feeding birds dryrice and salted pea-nuts. Bread shouldalways be soaked.

THE BIRD TABLE

WHAT TO FEED

10/2

Birds will tend tosearch most activelyfor food at thebeginning of the day,and replenishing thebird-table should be aregular morningroutine. If food isprovided each day atthe same time, themessage will spread

and the birds arrive oncue. However,remember that thebirds will come to relyon your food supplyand if it fails in severeweather some of themmay die as a result. Ifyou are able to providecontinuity of feedingover the Christmas

holidays (with a parentor school janitor help-ing out) it is acceptableto feed from Novemberuntil March. If continu-ity is impossible overthe Festive period,commence feedingafter Christmas.

Birds need water fordrinking and forkeeping their feathersclean to insulate themagainst the cold. Ifthere is no naturalsupply of water nearbyyou may decide to putwater out regularly in a

shallow dish. Infreezing conditionsslightly warm water willbe needed eachmorning. NEVER betempted to use salt oranti-freeze to keep thewater from turning toice!

WHEN TO FEED

PROVIDING WATER

10/3

As well as providingattractively illustratedbird books and binocu-lars (RSPB recom-mend the use ofbinoculars for childrenfrom P4 to P7 up-wards). It is suggestedthat children below P3might prefer to maketheir own “binoculars’or “telescope” fromjunk materials (such askitchen towel roll

centres) and paint anddecorate them. If“Reflecto Lite” materialis not readily available,the window can becovered with paper andsmall holes made inthe paper for viewing.Venetian blinds arealso useful. Rememberto make up a BirdChart for recording thevisitors to the bird-table. This chart

should cover the kindsof birds, and thenumbers of each kind,per recording sessionas a minimum, but youcan add other datasuch as outsidetemperature andweather conditions tosuit your scheme.Obtain colourful birdposters and pictures tocomplete your‘observatory’ area.

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

A RECIPE FOR ‘BIRD CAKE’Ingredients: Broken wholemeal biscuits and breadcrumbs

Peanuts (NOT salted)Chopped nuts (whichever kinds are cheapest)Millet seedMaize seedSunflower seedElder berriesHawsRose hipsBits of stale cheeseChopped appleLard (250g)Sultanas

Method: Melt lard in a heavy pan and mix in the other ingredients bitby bit. Grease the inside of a cake tin or of several smallercontainers, eg yoghurt pots and fill with the mixture, crushingdown well (eg. with a potato masher).Place the tin in a refrigerator until the mixture is set firm.Remove the cake from the tin and (if desired) make a holethrough it so that it can be hung on a length of string from abranch or from the edge of the bird-table.

* Be aware that some children may have nut allergies. In this case, remove allnuts from the recipe.

10/4

IDEAS FOR SCHOOL VISITS RELATED TO THEPROJECTS IN THIS PACK

There are so many possibilities for visits in Scotland related to wildlife, thecountryside and farming that we could not list them all in the space available,even if we wanted. What we can do is give you some useful examples that willencourage you to explore further in your own locality.

The Highland Folk Museum Kingussie, Highland RegionTel: (01540) 661307

Rural life in the Highlands and Islands: practice in different areas can becompared and farming of the past is displayed in an interesting way.

Almond Valley Heritage Trust Livingston, West LothianTel: (01506) 414957

An opportunity to meet a range of farm animals and to see a working water-mill.

Breweries and Distilleries Locally, in various parts of Scotland

One of Scotland’s most important industries is based on the production ofbarley from the country’s farmland.

Water-powered Flour Mills Locally, in various parts of Scotland

Working mills are an exciting extension to work on the Cornfield Project. Weknow of mills at East Linton, E Lothian; Livingston, W Lothian; Aberfeldy,Perthshire, Blair Atholl, Perthshire; Maes Howe, Orkney.

Ken-dee Marshes Dumfries and GallowayTel: (01671) 402861

This is a wetland and woodland site with three miles of nature trails.

Auchindrain Open Air Museum Inverary, ArgyllTel: (01499) 500235

A complete Scottish farming village has been preserved, showing itsrelationship with the surrounding countryside.

Vane Farm Nature Reserve by Loch Leven, Kinrosswww.rspb.org.ukTel: (01577) 862355

This is a RSPB Educational Development Centre.

11/1

GOOD SOURCES FOR SEEDS, PLANTS & TREESFOR A WILDLIFE GARDEN

Alba Trees plc Lower WintonGLADSMUIR

Email: sales@albatrees.co.uk East Lothian EH33 2ALwww.albatrees.co.uk Tel: (01620) 825058

No wildflower seedsCheap source for larger quantities of wildflower plants, native shrubs and trees.

BTCV Enterprises The Conservation CentreBalby RoadDONCASTER DN4 0RH

www.btcv.org Tel:(01302) 859522

Wide range of wildflowers, plants, shrubs and trees on mail order.

John Chambers 15 Westleigh RoadBarton SeagraveKETTERINGNorthants NN15 5AJTel: (01933) 652562

Very wide range of wildflower seeds, seed mixes, farm crop seeds. Limitedrange of wildflower plants and bulbs (on mail order).

Landlife Wildflowers Ltd The National Wildflower CentreCourt Hey Park

Email: info@landlife.org.uk LIVERPOOL L16www.landlife.org.uk Tel: (0151) 7371819

Wildflower seeds and seed mixes. Good range of wildflower plants on mailorder. Teachers’ resource pack available.

Edinburgh Wildlife Group c/o Christine LathamCity of Edinburgh Council

Tel: (0131) 469 3326 Quality Services, Level 2Locally collected wildflower seeds. 10 Waterloo PlaceNative wild plants, shrubs and trees. EDINBURGH, EH1 3EG

11/2

BIBLIOGRAPHY:SOME USEFUL INFORMATION SOURCES

If you are like us at High School Yards, you will probably have your ownfavourite reference and story books to do with nature and wildlife. However,there are some books which we found to be so useful when we weredeveloping the projects in this Pack that we would like to share them with you.These titles would certainly help to build on what we have been able to present,and to create your own tailor-made wildlife schemes.

‘Action for Birds Project Guide’ The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,The Lodge, Sandy Bedfordshire SG 19 2DL

‘A Guide to Habitat Creation’ by Chris Baines & Jane Smart, London EcologyUnit, 125 Camden High Street, London NW1 7JR, 1991.

‘Corn Rigs & Barley Rigs’ by Mary Bryden, Spotlight Series No.1‘Not Just Haggis’ by Katriona HazeIl Spotlight Series No.3,National Museums of Scotland, 1996

‘Grounds For Learning’ A Celebration of school site developments in Scot-land by Kate Kenny, Grounds for Learning, Airthrey Cottage, University ofStirling, STILING, FK9 4LA

‘The Green Releaf Primary Project’ A guide to using plants for informed andextra-curricular activities in school groups.Learning through Landscapes, Third Floor, Southside Offices, The Law Courts,Winchester, Hampshire SO23 9DL.

‘How to Make a Wildlife Garden’ by Chris Baines, Elm Tree Books/HamishHamilton, 1985.

‘Keeping Mini-Beasts. Earthworms’ by Chris Henwood.‘Keeping Mini-Beasts. Frogs’ by Chris Henwood.‘Keeping Mini-Beasts. Snails & Slugs’ by Chris Henwood.Franklin Watts, 12A Golden Square, London W1, 1988

‘The Scots Kitchen’ by F Marion McNeilPanther Books/ Granada Publishing Ltd, 1974.

Various Project Guides and Videos available from:Environmental Education Adviser, RSPB, 17 Regent Terr, Edinburgh EH75BN. Tel 0131 557 3136. Fax: 0131 557 6275

11/3

Order your 2003 Presentation Pack subscription below Complete and send this form to Royal Mail,FREEPOST EH3647, 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9PE. No stamp required.

Mr Mrs Miss Other (please specify title )

First name Surname

Address

Postcode

Email If you would like to receive information by email, tick here

Your order Order no Price/set Sets Total Gift?

2003 Presentation Packs AP0000 £34.95 * £

Total amount of enclosed payment £

Your payment Please enclose a cheque payable to ‘Royal Mail’, or complete your card details below

Cheque/Postal order Visa Mastercard Switch Delta

Credit card/Debit card number

Start date Expiry date Switch issue number

Cardholder’s signature Date

Mail Order 0845 072 2000

Text Talk 18001 0845 072 2000

Sending a gift? Please tick therelevant box at left and state therecipient’s name and address ona separate sheet.

Price Please note that this price is an estimatebased on planned special stamp issues/products for2003, and was correct at the time of going to press.We will send you account statements on a regularbasis advising you of products sent and any furtherpayment required, if any.

Get your claws into 2003

1: Prices include VAT at the current rates and remain valid until 31st January 2003. 2: Orders for destinations within the UK are sent postage paid. 3: Royal Mail will tryto dispatch Your First Day Cover or Presentation Pack on the issue date, however, this is subject to availability and volume considerations. Items may be dispatchedseparately. 4: Royal Mail reserves the right to withdraw any item at any time and any payments made in respect of orders not yet processed will be refunded. Royal Mailis a trading name of Royal Mail Group plc, registered in England & Wales, under number 4138203, registered office 148 Old Street, London EC1V 9HQ. The informationyou provide will be held under the Data Protection Act 1998 and will be used by Royal Mail Group plc, including Parcelforce Worldwide, Post Office Ltd and ConsigniaCustomer Management Ltd. We may want to contact you from time to time with details of other products and services available from us. If you do not want this, tickhere Stamp Designs © Royal Mail Group plc 2002. All rights reserved.

*

Start the New Year in striking style with Birds ofPrey stamps, available from January 14th at PostOffice™ branches, or by Mail Order. Highlights of2003’s Special Stamp programme include the 50thanniversary of the Coronation, the decoding of DNA,the conquest of Everest and other great feats ofexploration, and 250 years of the British Museum.

Don’t miss out! Fill in the form below and subscribeto a year’s Presentation Packs.