But I read some really frightening statistics from the National Trust today:
Did you know less than 10% of British kids now play outside in a natural space, compared to over 50% a generation ago?
And 3 times as many kids are taken to hospital because they fell out of bed, rather than a tree!
This phenomenon is becoming known as 'nature deficit disorder'
So I thought I could write a post, for all the families that come and stay with us, to share a few ideas of things the kids can do (that aren't fishing) that will get them interested in nature.
1) Go for a picnic – easy and fun, anyone can do this. Take an ID book and find out what plants your sitting on!
2) Miniature boats
Try to make the best boat you can out of sticks you find on
the ground, leaves and grass only! Float them out and see who’s goes the
furthest
3) Nature’s Treasure’s Hunt
Save a few old egg boxes.
On the computer (or by hand) show a picture for an object
with it’s name to fit into the egg spot in the tray. Good ideas would be things
like acorns, birch leaves, wood pidgeon feathers etc. You could get seasonal
with this and think about blackberries, or bits of broken duck egg shell for
example. You can adapt this to your own little hunter’s abilities and ages,
maybe only include the names of the objects, or get more challenging with plant
species, and bird feathers.
On the top of the egg box, glue down a the printed strip of
paper.
Off you go!
4) Find and keep some footprints
Bring along some plaster of paris, an empty takeaway box,
and cut some circles from old pop bottles.
Mix the plaster of paris ready into the take away box and
stick the lid on.
See if you can find any footprints, look out for great big
heron prints, duck, or little hedgehog, and rabbit prints.
When you find some clear any sticks or leaves gently off the
top of them, push the plastic
circle into the ground around them, and then pour the plaster of paris over the
print. Wander off or wait for 20 minutes and come back to see if the plaster of
paris has dried and you can collect the cast of the foot print.
Clean any dirt off the cast with an old soft toothbrush.
You might need to get a book on tracks if you're not used to looking for them!
5) Pooters
Use old jam jars to make your own pooters to check out some
insects.
You’ll need 2 bits of plastic tubing, a jam jar, some
muslin, some electric tape, and some blue tack.
Make two holes in the jam jar lid big enough to push the
plastic tubing into.
On the end of one of the pieces of plastic tubing that will
be inside the jar, tape the muslin across the bottom of the tube. (This is the
tube you want to suck on so maybe mark the other end using electric tape too)
Leave the ends of both bits of tubes a bit short off the bottom of the jar so
bugs have space to drop down.
Squish blue tack around the plastic tubing and holes in the
lid to make a nice seal.
Put the lid on the jam jar.
Find a bug small enough to fit in your tubing, and gently
cover it with the unmarked plastic tube end. Suck on the taped plastic tube and
you’ll hoover the bug up the other tube into the jar, so you can have a proper
look! Use an ID guide to figure out what you've caught!
6) Make your own Whistle
Suitable only for kids safe whittling!
The best instructions for this are at: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Willow-Whistle
7) Catch a spider’s web
You’ll need some silver spray paint left over from xmas, a
piece of black card and a piece of spare card (maybe from a cereal box).
Find a pretty spiders web that will fit onto your card. Make
sure a spider isn’t on it!
Then hold the spare piece of card on one side of the web, to
shield any plants or things behind it. Then gently mist the spray paint over
the web.
Whilst the paint is still wet, remove the spare card, and
place the black card behind the web, move it gently and evenly towards the web
until it touches it, and keep it moving to transfer the web to your card.
You might like to try covering the caught web with acrylic
spray glue to preserve it if you want to keep it. Spiders webs are very strong
for their size, but can be quite delicate too so be careful with it!
8) Hunt for a nearby geocache!
If you don’t know what this is, google it and get the iphone
/ smart phone app!
9) Make a grass trumpet
10) Go for a walk at night – how are things different? What
things can you hear? The night isn’t scary, you’ll probably be able to hear our
Tawny Owls talking to each other… Try cupping your hands together or whistling
in a low pitch to call back to them!
Sorry it's not angling related - but I hope the families out there take some inspiration from it!
Emma
PS: Top tip - you can get some really good ID guides and nature related apps for your phone!
I recommend TreeId, Chirp!+, FSC Wildlife Guides and StarWalk.
To return to our home page click: www.lonsdalepark.co.uk
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