Feed

With the help of Alice and Peter and some pretty cool binoculars we were able to see into the distance and get a close up look at the Loch Winnoch Wildlife. We learned how the loch has developed to assist and sustain the wildlife living there and as mentioned the plans to further this in the years to come. Finding things, doing things and learning in an Active Way we have found is an excellent way to learn....

The dasy brought a whole new meaning to the game 'Hide and Seek' as we sat hidden in the Bird Hides seeking out new animals to discuss and note down on our charts. We love to learn through Discussion and we did this as we moved back along through the woodland towards the visitors centre.

We have a lot of comfrey on our site and so we looked into it’s medicinal properties and how it can help the body recover from broken bones and wounds. We foraged some comfrey and infused it in olive oil, added bees wax and essential oils to make our own healing salves.

We wanted to make a variety of nest boxes for different birds. A parent came with their wood working tools and assisted some of the young people to make these little homes for Spring.

Working with the North Ayrshire Ranger Service each week we have been clearing and tidying the Wee Forest at Lochshore, Kilbirnie.

We were lucky enough to observe a Kestrel swooping down for the kill.

The group worked on clearing the scrub and small trees at Saltwells NNR, there has been sightings of the white letter hairstreak which are protected under the wildlife act as a priority. By clearing the scrub and small trees they created a woodland ride giving the area more light which attracts the white letter hairstreak. They will also be planting more elm trees which the butterfly feeds off, in the 70's Dutch elm disease killed millions of elm trees thus reducing the number of white letter hairstreak. A couple of students made a hibernaculum using logs and placing them in a pile, this will be a good shelter for wildlife during the winter. Reptiles including the common lizard will benefit from the hibernaculum and will enjoy using it as a basking spot to take in the winter sun.