Kids go wild at Folly Farm!

We had great fun at Folly Farm on our half-term Bush Craft day! 

After escaping the lesser spotted bear at Folly Farm (!) by doing SAS-style rolls through the woods, the children worked together to make their very own survival shelters. These weren't just any old shelters - one group even managed to fit theirs with a water drainage system which they were pretty chuffed about!






Having made their shelters we were all feeling a bit peckish and so the children worked together to build their own fires and bake some bread.

After making some lovely cinnamon and sugar dough we wrapped it around sticks and toasted it in the fire...and then topped it off with some nutella...Yum!





We weren't quite finished there though - Bush craft isn't quite the same without the mandatory toasted marshmallows! 

It was great to see how well the children looked out for and helped each other in the different activities.

Thanks to all the kids for making it such a fun trip out!

Hedgehogs at Home Education Learning Place

Making a hedgehog family

Claire and Ann had a great day at Home Education Learning Place with the home school community in Easton, delivering a hedgehog talk.  What a brilliant place with great outdoor playing equipment and a lovely learning hall... with a kitchen full of chocolate brownies!!!!

Anyway, back to the hedgehogs! The group of about 30 children- of a range of ages- were told all about the plight of the hedgehog. Hedgehogs have declined by a quarter over the last 10 years. Claire detailed why the hedgehogs are in trouble, what makes them such fascinating creatures and what we can all do to help.

Getting stuck in to making cly hedgehogs

Everyone got stuck in making clay hedgehogs- there were many excellent hedgehogs- even hedgehog families were being made. The class paid careful attention to the hedgehog, its long nose used for sniffing out worms, its claws used for digging them up, its little teeth (we’ve seen a hedgehog gobble up worms in the Avon Wildlife Trust office!) its small tail, long back legs and 6000 spikes, a useful defence mechanism!

There were also super Hedgehog names for their creations, including Hedgeward, Hedge, Snuffles, Tricky, Spike and Hugo. Ann then told a story all about the perils of being a hedgehog called ‘ The Adventures of Spike the Hedgehog’ to which the group provided sound effects.

The Adventures of Spike the Hedgehog

Our visit has even raised money for the Avon Wildlife Trust. So thank you to everyone who made a donation!

If you would like information on how to make your garden hedgehog friendly then please visit our wild hedgehogs site click here.

Also, be sure to record any hedgehog sightings in our on line survey too! Click here.