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To see the tree under a 45 degree angle , we measured how far we needed to be from the tree. The distance from the tree was also how tall the tree was.

We found a spot in the woodlands and let it inspire us to write a poem .

The task was to build a shelter that would keep you warm and dry, using only 1 tarpaulin.

This week the Elderbank Explorers investigated the topic of Habitats and Wildlife. The young people were eager to discuss the types of wildlife that they might find within their Wild Place. After a discussion on risk management we decided to make apple bird feeders to make the school Wild Place more attractive for our feathered visitors. The wind and the sleet did not deter them!!

On Friday afternoon I took a walk down route 7 at Doonfoot. The clue’s in the name - the Jubilee Bridge spans the foot of the River Doon as it meets the sea and is always a good place for birdwatching. The usual knot of redshanks hunkered down on the bank, some spiky-haired female goosanders and their glossy-headed males, mallards and swans being fed from the wharf, some teal dabbling, and a couple of goldeneyes demonstrating well from afar that bird names are rubbish, and that they’d more reliably be called whitecheeks. But there was also a new bird for me – what turned out, on checking over a cup of tea later, to be a Little Grebe. Hard to spot as it was often underwater but this is what gives it its other name of Dabchick, from dip chick referring to its habit of taking constant dips. Crossley describes it as a ‘floating rabbit’ due to its small size and fluffy tail and tells me the call is ‘like the whinny of a tiny horse or slightly insane giggle.’ I listened online and it made me laugh – welcome at the end of a long week!

I did Parkrun on Saturday on route 7 in Troon. To distract myself from the driving wind and my screaming lungs, I decided to count the bird species along the 5k run – the route follows the prom along the shore, and then along a wall of dense sea buckthorn. The tally was 10 including a last minute redshank, as I stumbled towards the finish line. Plus another 5 as I walked home – bullfinches, curlew, oystercatchers, chaffinches, robin and a crowd of starlings which someone noted were “quite chatty when they’re all together like that”. Plus the loop marker of the route was the Millennium Milepost we painted with Eco-Ayrshire in 2019…..getting a bit rusty now after an alphabet of salty storms. Maybe all this noticing is what slowed me down...not quite a PB this time, more of a lame duck! :)