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(2 hrs) "Mother nature provides for our need, but not our greed" While in Vancouver, I made a visit to the Bill Reid Gallery, which showcases the work of a contemporary First Nation artist who has been very influential in Canadian art and environmentalism. Bill was born and raised in Victoria city (his mother was one of the 'stolen generation' sent to residential school and cut off from her culture). He reconnected with his Haida roots after visiting his grandfather at Haida Gwii (island north of Vancouver Island) when he was 28. He developed a style which fused classical Haida with modern art. He was already trained as a goldsmith so he made gold jewellery but also lots of other art. In his later years, he made a totem pole in his old age. As Parkinson's took hold, he worked with wire instead of drawing. Haida art is connected to the natural world, symmetrical around the vertical midline, with primary work (skeleton that holds it together) which must match in design and thickness and then intricate secondaries within, but symmetry is the heart of it all. First people's art often shows two aspects of the same creature eg front or overhead view plus side aspect, a bit like Picasso's work. Haida art contains tension, but it is controlled not exploded. On reviewing my photos from Victoria, I realised that the distortion of images caused by ripples on water connects to the 'graphicness' of Haida/first nation art (see pic above, taken by me, of the distorted reflection of a pile of kayaks) There were also a number of interesting films at the gallery about how the Haida use natural resources, including for dying fabric and for weaving. Alder bark produces bright yellow, cedar bark gives red (steep for up to 3 months for most intense colour), mosses for green, with different mordants and pots eg copper pot, to alter the colours. Salal berries for indigo, Oregon grape (mahonia) for deep purple. I learned that weaving requires good energy and breath, and people had time for song and dance art and culture because the land was so rich, and the art was used to teach. (Rcbm.ca/livingcultures for original films).

The Aspire Group got the chance to go to one of the other Nature reserves in Dudley. The Leasowes is a SSSI which means it is Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the waxcap fungi grasslands, and the area contains several rare species. While we were there the group worked on restoring Acid Grassland, they were cutting back brambles and smaller trees to make open spaces and rides for Bees and Butterflies. The Senior warden Helen walked us back to the wardens base along the canal side also known as "the cut" in the Black Country. It was nice to see the connection between the woodland and the aquatic landscapes, we could see wild geese floating along and hear birds in the woodland. After lunch we went to walk around the reserve to explore the wooded valleys, streams and lakes. These areas were created by Willian Shenstone and shows his love of nature and wildlife. Thank you Helen and everyone at the Leasowes! The Groups also got the chance to use the peeling Jig and draw knife to take bark off Ash trees with Les from the Friends of Saltwells and Emma the warden. We can't wait to show you what we will be doing with the peeled logs in a few weeks!

Today our learning adventures took us back into times of Castles, Battles, Kings and Queens!! It also took us on an adventure into how people used to live and the ideas that they had. Stirling Castle was our destination and what a day it turned out to be. On our journey towards the castle we were amazed at how tall and proud it sat on its high perch over looking Stirling. Arriving at the castle was a great experience as with excitement in our eyes history flooded over us in one almighty swoosh! The colour of the castle was something that we noticed first as we made our way into the mouth of the castle and into a very warm welcome. The staff at the castle undoubtedly know a lot about people from the past but the definitely know lots about people of the present and we were treated like Kings and Queens as we were led on a tour through the castle and through time. Through cobblestone courtyards and cannon lined walls we made our way into palaces and religious buildings while grey skys frowned down upon us heavy with the weight of dark rain. But our spirits were not to be dampened and so on we went....

As the skys grew dark our day was brightened not only by the warmth and generosity of the Castle Staff but by the amazing colours to be found within the bed chambers of the King and Queen. We learned that they Kings Chamber lay relatively bare while the Queens Chamber exuded opulence with materials, colours and crafts and skills of the very highest order on show throughout. A massive thank you to Ryan and all the team at Stirling Castle who made this Active Learning Day so special and informative.

Auchmithie is set on the East coast of Scotland, we went to do a beach clean, look at the effects of rising sea levels due to climate change, the local history of the village and the formation of the cliffs. Who needs a classroom? I had spoken to one of the Geography teachers who has a real interest in geology, thanks Fraser, he directed me to https://geologyviewer.bgs.ac.uk he also told me that Scotland's mountains were of Himalayan proportion and the rocks were a result of erosion transported by a river the size of the Mississippi. The scar of white could be due to volcanic action. The group spent a while collecting interesting rocks and exploring the rock pools. The sun almost shone and it would have been great to stay longer but the tide was rushing in and the rock were soon covered.

Exploring a new corner of the country park today, where new paths have been created, and I found an interesting colony based around a fallen beech tree. I believe this is a 'nurse log;, which, as it decays, supports a wide variety of plants. Wikipedia says: "Various mechanical and biological processes contribute to the breakdown of lignin in fallen trees, resulting in the formation of niches of increasing size, which tend to fill with forest litter such as soil from spring floods, needles, moss, mushrooms and other flora. Mosses also can cover the outside of a log, hastening its decay and supporting other species as rooting media and by retaining water. Small animals such as various squirrels often perch or roost on nurse logs, adding to the litter by food debris and scat. The decay of this detritus contributes to the formation of a rich humus that provides a seedbed and adequate conditions for germination". There were at least 4 varieties of fungi, plus various plants such as brambles and ivy, and I could see the various 'micro-climates' developing around the log; damp and mossy, sunnier and drier on another side, deep leaf litter piled up in the crook of some branches.

(1.5 hrs) "All mushroom are edible (some only once)" Today my friend Ros and I went for a walk along the shore westward from Blackness. It was a chilly, grey day but we still saw quite a lot of birdlife - herons, oystercatchers, and assorted grey/brown waders which we couldn't identify except for a curlew or two. I was surprised to see several kinds of fungi in the verges of the woodlands fringing the shore, including pretty pinky-purple Rosy Bonnet (mycena rosea) - or perhaps Lilac Bonnet (mycena pura) - and the fleshy lollipops of Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus). Later, when we stopped at Hopetoun Garden Centre for a hot drink, more 'toadstools' in the woods. These last were proper red, fairy tale picture books ones - fly agaric (amanita muscaria), I think. At first I wasn't sure whether they were real, or artfully placed garden ornaments! We were careful not to touch or taste any of them - as someone said, "All mushrooms are edible, some only once!"

(2 hrs) Where I live, in Mid Calder, there is an old orchard, which used to belong to the local laird, but is now a small public park called Sommers Park. Very little trace of the original orchard remains, but in a rough patch of ground an old espaliered pear tree, and an equally ancient apple tree, still stand among the undergrowth. Both were laden with fruit this year, most of which was going to waste as windfall, so on an afternoon walk I filled the capacious pockets of my waterproof, and took my bounty home to make apple sauce, which I've never done before. I found a simple recipe on the internet. I thought the apples might be 'cookers', and therefore not very sweet, but in fact they were so sweet I needed to add only a spoonful of honey to the mix to make it tasty. The pears were already sweet, albeit with a fairly tough brown skin which had to be removed before cooking. Research on Google suggests the apple might be a heritage variety called 'Dog's (or Hogg's) Snout'. The pears look like Pyrus communis 'Clapp's Favourite'. The resulting apple/pear sauce was delicious poured over warm scones, with enough for my husband and I to enjoy two days running. The nearby woods were also full of fascinating fungi. I saw my first 'fairy ring', and a log covered with a beautiful lacy pattern of turkeytail (Trametes versicolor).