Fersiwn Gymraeg ar gael yma.
A school playground can be a fantastic place for wildlife. All kinds of plants, animals and insects can be found here, which can make a brilliant ‘outdoor classroom’ to learn about nature. As part of the Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff team, Sue helps to deliver free school outreach sessions to primary schools in Cardiff, to help young learners to connect with the wonderful creatures that live in the city.
Leading my first session
Although I had helped with a few sessions before, I had never actually led one on my own. At first, I was a little apprehensive about what the day would bring and when I looked outside, my spirits sank. Before my eyes was a volunteer’s worst nightmare; rain and lots of it.
It was still raining when I arrived at the school. I introduced myself to the children and read them the story about a baby hedgehog leaving its home for the first time and exploring the outside world. I did this whilst balancing a soft toy hedgehog on my lap and a hedgehog puppet on my finger. All went well, nobody tried to take the hedgehog or crawl on my lap for a better look at the book!
It was time to explain that we would be going outside to look around the school grounds to see what we could find and to collect things to make a ‘hedgehog’ when we came back inside.
Braving the elements
It was at this point that things became a little chaotic. Getting fifteen three to four year olds dressed in wet weather gear and into groups of three was no easy task. I handed out the kit for the session to each group: a paper bag for collecting ‘stuff’, a paper colour chart (remember it’s still raining heavily) and a plastic cup.
We trudged through the rain to a sheltered part of the school grounds. At first, the children seemed a little reluctant to explore their surroundings. They needed coaxing to look around and touch things such as the tree bark and leaves. Soon, despite the rain, they began to enjoy looking at the bedraggled flowers and touching the soggy leaves. They gathered an assortment of sticks, bits of bark, and pine cones to put in their bags for their ‘hedgehogs’, grass, daisies and dandelion for their cups to make a special potion and we talked about the colours of the trees, leaves and flowers.
As the rain became heavier, the colour charts became pulp and the paper bags began to disintegrate, it was time to head back indoors. While the children made their ‘hedgehogs’ out of the contents of their bags, I made a 'potion' from the contents of their cups which I asked the children to smell. Most said it smelled green, which in fact it did!
Connecting with nature
At the end of the session, I explained to the children that wherever they are; in the garden, in the park or on the way to school, they can look at the trees and flowers, listen to the birds singing and think of themselves like the baby hedgehog exploring the world around them.
It amazed me that even in the most awful conditions, these very young children were learning to enjoy the natural world. I think this session is important because it is an opportunity to arouse their curiosity about the natural world, encourage them to learn more about it and appreciate the need to look after it as they grow up.
If you’re a primary school teacher in Cardiff and would like to book a free session, or if you’d like to learn more about Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff events and activities, or volunteering with the project, you can email cardiffoutreach@rspb.org.uk for more information.
*The Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff project is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and ALDI and is a partnership project between RSPB Cymru, Cardiff Council and Buglife Cymru*