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We decided to create our own maps of the walk it takes from the carpark to the dragonfly sculpture. We measured out the steps, checked the directions and drew out a map whilst walking, also comparing our work to any signposts around. We then took these home and have been adding in details to an enormous to scale map which Nate is really determined to be as accurate as possible. Therefore we are also using Google maps, the OS map and Thursley's own education map. This has turned out to be a big project though so looking like it will take some time!

We spent this weekend walking along the St Swithun's Way. On 24th Oct, we walked from Bentley to Upper Froyle. It was very muddy, windy and plenty of rain. Shreya enjoyed walking through the mud and the wind. We mainly walked through farmland and passed Baden-Powell's house- founder of the Scout movement. We also measured the diameter of a pine, oak and a fruit tree to determine their ages. Today (25th) we walked from Upper Froyle to Alton. It was interesting to walk from farmland to village (Holybourne) to town. We saw a group of deer, some lovely trees with autumn leaves, a duck pond with two ducks similar looking to a mallard drake but larger. I'm unsure if they were Rouen ducks. There were lots of wasps inside some fallen fruit.

We gathered a number of leaves and flowers we found on our walk and took them home to sort and identify. We also tried to do a mushroom spore print from a fly agaric which we found knocked over. It didn't turn out too dark but you could see the lines from the gills. We also pressed some of the flowers and leaves in a book and have left them to see what they look like in a few weeks.

We also spent awhile taking photos of anything we liked the look of, from close ups of leaves to landscapes. The colours were really vivid as it had just rained. We're going to do some art projects with the photos over the next few weeks.

One of the leaves we collected was an oak leaf which had a collection of small galls on it. We looked them up and discovered these were the beginnings of the oak wasp larvae, something which can destroy these mighty trees.

Fantastic bird feeder for our little garden visitors.

In the last few weeks we've been spending lots of time outdoors discovering and exploring the forests in Callander Crags, Glen Finglas, Little Drum Wood and around Loch Katrine. As well as going for walks and cycles and exploring through climbing trees and jumping in puddles we've also been collecting leaves and seeds for tree ID and crafting and have been practising our photography and ID skills on all the fungi out at the moment. Robin's been learning about different tree species, how trees grow, the symbiosis between fungi and trees and all about the local landscape and history. We've been lucky to spot red squirrels a few times and have watched them racing through the trees and collecting nuts. We've also taken the time to sit quietly and listen to the birds and other forest noises.

We've been out exploring the local area and talking about how the colours and textures have changed now it's autumn. We went on our own scavenger hunt to find different textures and patterns. We went on a mini beast hunt in the woods and discussed the habitats that minibeasts live in.