Feed

Back from the October break, and back into the school grounds! Part of this years programme involves making and selling reindeer, made from recycled wood, to raise funds both for charity and for the Wellbeing Hub. We have been out scavenging in the woods around the school, and also a bit further afield to find suitable logs and branches to build with. The group are thoroughly enjoying learning new skills such as using different tools, cordless drills, knives and mallets to build the reindeer. To start with, they made a mallet themselves, cut from a pole and whittled down to give it a handle. This would come in handy for once the build started, and got them using the knives safely too. Once we got going, it was a case of rotating tasks to ensure everyone was learning the same skills and getting the same benefits. The reindeer have taken a knife of their own and are flying out of the doors of the Wellbeing Hub! Well, that is their job this time of year! All the wood we are using for bodies and heads is found in the woods. We have been lightly harvesting for the smaller sticks and twigs where needed, but predominantly we are using what we find. The group are enjoying learning new things and building with recycled materials. The response has been fantastic. We are selling them steadily in school and are also getting orders in from parents. It's a good feeling that so many people are supporting this and looking to have a little bit of the forest for their home.

We had been told that the Community Bird Feeders in Alexandra Park in Glasgow were running dry and with the change in seasons and depleted food supplies for our feathered friends we set to work with an idea we had discussed when making our Apple Bird Feeders at Springburn Park. Our friends within the Level 4 Class at Glasgow Kelvin had kindly gathered a bag full of pine cones for our activity and we all agreed it was great to be able to work together like this!! We had learned from our time at the Beautiful Richmond Park that we should use wild bird seed for these feeders so along with this, some margarine, lengths of garden string and our imaginations we set to work.....

With the invaluable help of our Support Staff we started the messy (but fun) job of filling our pine cones with margarine. Senior Countryside Ranger for Glasgow Allison Greig had offered a top tip letting us know that the pine cones we found on the forest floor of Pollok Park should be placed on a radiator so that the heat would open the pine cones ready to be smothered in rich yellow margarine. Our Support Staff helped attach the string to the pine cones and once we applied a thick coating of margarine the feeders were ready to be rolled in our wild bird seeds, the coatings for these were thick and the process extremely fun as our fingers smudged and mushed their way into the pine cones. In total we created over 30 pine cone bird feeders which was a great effort, all that was left to do now was hang them......

So to Alexandra Park in Glasgow we went with a massive box of freshly prepared bird feeders and a large bag of seed. Again we had learned from our experience with Ranger Allison Greig that we could put the left over seed to good use and at the same time help other wild life within the park. We selected four different areas within the park to hand our feeders and were amazed at how quickly the birds began to feed. The swishing blue and yellow colors of the Blue Tits as they swooped and darted past us made us smile as the brave red robins strutted close by waiting for a chance to feast on the seed that had dropped to the ground. And so we went on deeper into the park and another Active Learning Nature Adventure....

As always we Talked as we Walked sharing our thoughts and ideas and wondering how on earth we managed to produce so many feeders. Our support staff kept us busy asking questions and as always supporting us along the way. The rain started to fall and our hoods went up as the rain drops sent circles dancing on the black pond that lay before us. These circles were soon to be dashed however as we set to work with the extra wild bird seed this time throwing it directly into the pond as an avalanche of ducks raced towards us. It was great to see them thrash and dash, dive and gulp at the seed shimmering all around them. We remembered the important advice from Ranger Greig that we should NEVER feed these birds white bread and noticed that there were signs all around telling us just this!! Local Squirrels had noticed that we were in the park and greedily approached us hungry to see what we had for them. But before long it was time to head back to college and so with another Nature Adventure behind us we made our way back knowing that once again we had played our part in helping nature, the environment and the small creatures who call our beautiful parks home!!!

Today we were working with Glasgow Countryside Rangers Linzi and Fiona as we took part in a Practical Conservation Activity! Our main aim within this years project is promotion of natural areas and filling them with suitable plants and trees. Today we were helping to clear invasive Birch Trees that were encroaching on one of Pollok's Wildflower Meadows. We were soon to find that this important task would benefit our wellbeing in a variety of ways......

Before we set to work Linzi and Fiona explained the various tools that we would be using as part of the activity and took us through a Health and Safety Briefing. Tools we would be using on the day include Hand Saws. Bow Saws as well as Long Handled and Short Handled Loppers. We used gloves and understood that we used these for a variety of reasons.

Teamwork seems to be a constant within our Active Learning Project with our Countryside Ranger Friends. We talk as we work and love to hear the experiences of the people we meet including Linzi and Fiona with the phrase 'Good Life Choices' becoming one that we can now really appreciate! In the images above we cut and divide branches to be used as part of a separate program using long and short handled lopers. In the final image Linzi works with Alice ensuring that Safety is the main aim of the day!