Feed

Part of our plans for the day would see us revisit the Apple Bird Feeders we made in class the previous week. We chatted and each made guesses on whether there would be anything left or whether the birds, bees, wasps and mini beasts would have gorged themselves all week long on the 'fruits' of our labor.....

As our morning grew to a close we laughed as we witnessed the utter devastation of our apple bird feeders! Red balls hung precariously with juices dripping and glistening in the green yellow branches. Wasps housed themselves deep into the cores gorging themselves with not a care in the world. We left the woodland feeling strangely satisfied with our efforts pausing only to take one last look at the bustling wildlife of the park to see if there was perhaps one last feather to identify and one bird to spot.....

Previous visits to our college green space had shown us that some of the bird boxes placed by previous groups had become battered and broken and would no longer serve as a warm and dry home for the birds who call our college garden home. With the help of Sarah-Jayne (RSPB) and her team of Alice and Peter we set about making some upgrades and providing warm and dry options as winter drives towards us. We are always learning on this Nature and Environmental Adventure and with this in mind we had to consider the types of birds we were looking to help. Sarah-Jayne showed us different nesting boxes that were suitable for specific birds and with our choices made we set to work.....

Robins and sparrows were the birds that we identified as needing our help. We talked about locations, heights and the best directions to position each of boxes. We looked at the size of holes and the types of birds who would fill them, we learned about habitats and what types of birds would be attracted to the habitats we had helped to develop. As always we worked and learned together in this the biggest of classrooms and when finally our nesting boxes were in place we stood back and admired the changes that we had made. “Everybody needs beauty...places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.” JM

We collected mulch to use in the school flowerbeds.

A few technical issues getting things up and running our end, but here is the first update from our new John Muir Group. We started up in August, and here is an over view of what we have been up to so far. Our first few sessions were spent getting the lie of the land around the school. We have a nice wooded area at the back of the grounds that we will be using mainly for our work. We have also been out walking in the Ferry Glen, a nice walk directly across from the school. Once we got ourselves settled in, we started activities within the school grounds: We have been IDing plants and trees using guide sheets showing leaf shapes and seed and fruit types to get an idea of what trees we have in the school. Learning to measure the height and girth of trees. Learning to tie a series of knots that can be used for a number of tasks, Lashing poles together, joining ropes, securing ropes to objects, and using rope to drag heavy objects. We have been learning to use hand tools safely, such as bow saws for removing dead wood and harvesting wood for poles for building. We have also been learning about drone photography, which allows us to get aerial photos both of the plants and trees around the area as well as taking aerial photos of the group working. We will be building some birdhouses to put up in the school grounds, and have been asked by the Police to build them planters for the Queensferry station. They are supplying us with pallet wood to build them from. All in all, some busy times ahead for the Queensferry High John Muir Group!

some of our posters of the SOAC and maps of our wild places

more posters and maps