June and July: School Visits

June and July was a very busy month for school visits. Several schools came for repeat visits and we had a couple for the first time.  The weather was wonderful and I began to plan the days assuming we could be outside the whole time... 

June is always an exciting time to look for mini-beasts in the margins; using traps, nets, trays and pooters we found, caught and identified a fantastic variety of creatures. It was very satisfying.  We also did several pollinator surveys around this time.  On one occasion, we counted 7 different types of bees and 3 different hoverflies on one small patch of comfrey.  The pond was also a great success.  I was constantly amazed at how many different things we found in it.

Another common theme in our visits was growing food. One school planted some vegetables and salad in May and were able to return in July to pick, cook and eat them. We had a scrumptious lunch of new potatoes, carrots, beans and salad along with pancakes made with eggs they collected from our chickens.  Children enjoyed  using compasses and maps to navigate their way around a trail on the farm and picking things on their way.   We used the flowers and other natural materials to be creative; I particularly liked the head dresses produced on a couple of the visits.

Comments are Disabled