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We can't promise that you will see everything
on a sheet in one visit. The three
seasonal sheets (8,9,10) include some repetition, so that observations
at different seasons my be compared. You may like to consider with
the children what will happen at the following season e.g. leaf fall,
young birds leaving tit box, insects dying / hibernating, etc. |
Sheet 1 GET TO KNOW A
TREE
Location: Recommended between trail
points A & C, to west of ride; along Easy Access path; or N.W. corner of
Ant Wood.
Encourage the children to choose different types, sizes and shapes of
tree, including coppiced trees and young ones.
Q.5 Paper and crayons will be needed for the bark rubbing.
Q.8 Flowers and fruit will be found only on the older trees and coppice
shoots.
Sheet 3 LEAF SEARCH
Location: Vicinity of trail point R,
and track down to Ant Wood; or woodland generally.
The odd one out is field maple - there is none in Wilderness Wood. The
evergreens are Scots pine and holly.
Sheet 4 FIND THE FUNGUS
Location: Anywhere in the wood.
Suitable for September - October only.
Do not allow children to pick or kick over toadstools. Wash hands
afterwards. Most species are harmless.
Amanita: Several poisonous species including Fly Agaric (red with white
spots). Likely also to find Lemon cap (pale yellow with a few white
spots), and Blusher (pinkish-brown with buff spots, and bruising pink
where damaged).
Brittlegills: Some slightly poisonous, many edible. Likely to find
yellow, red, purple and greenish caps.
Boletes: Almost all species edible or harmless. We have frequently eaten
them.
Sheet 5 HOW WOOD IS USED
Location: In and around woodyard.
The barn was built by us in 1983-1990, using methods that changed little
between the middles ages and the eighteenth century. The frame is made
from roughly squared oak trunks, held together with pegged joints.
The rafters are oak and chestnut; battens are split chestnut; shingles
are split oak and chestnut; weatherboards and gutter are sawn pine;
wattle is chestnut uprights, woven with hazel rods. Daub is made from
clay, lime, chopped straw, cow dung.
To do later: Q.1 Steel, concrete. Q.2 Asbestos sheeting. Q.3 Tiles,
thatch.
Sheet 7 WHAT DO WE USE WOOD FOR?
Location: Around the barn, in the
furniture display area, and around the yard.
Investigate how the wood is fixed together (nails, screws, weaving etc).
Investigate how wood is used in different forms (twigs, sticks, poles
with or without bark, split poles, planks unplaned or planed).
Bird box is made from pine, picnic tables and doors made from Douglas
fir, weather boards from our own pine, hurdles are hazel, broom is
birch, firewood is mixed wood and all other items are sweet chestnut.
Sheet 8 SIGNS OF SPRING
Location: Bluebells and anemones can
be found around point E on the
main trail, and around “Bluebell Path”. Butterflies are more likely to
be found in open areas.
The wood products should be found in the yard area.
Sheet 9 THE WOOD IN SUMMER
Location: Anywhere in the wood. Look
for evidence of rabbits along the tracksides, and in the “Bluebell Path”
area.
Sheet 10 AUTUMN COMES TO THE WOOD
Location: Toadstools can be found
anywhere in the wood. Do not allow children to pick or kick over
toadstools. Wash hands afterwards. Most species are
harmless.
Sheets 11 or 12 BUG HUNT
You could make two copies of the activity sheet for each child or group so you can
compare two habitats. You could use the open grassy Christmas tree
plantation and a shady coppice area. Ask the children to put a tick next
to the picture for each minibeast as they see it. Add up the ticks and
use the box by the picture to record the total number seen. Look for
flying insects, look on the leaves of trees and other plants, and in the
leaf litter for ground-dwellers. Move away the top layer of soil to find
underground creatures.
Bug hunting is most successful if done slowly and carefully. When
looking through leaf litter, move a little at a time with your fingers.
Light-coloured trays or tubs, and magnifying glasses, are useful for
examining finds.
Sheet 13 ANIMAL SIGNS
Location: Signs of animals can be found
anywhere in the wood. Look for tracks in muddy places.
Sheet 14: PLANT
GROWTH AND SEEDS
Location: What makes up a plant?
You could use the area around the pond and the grove where there is
a variety of trees that are easy to get to.
What do plants need to grow? You could use the area around
the easy-access path for a variety of light and shady places and stony
tracks.
Where do new plants come from? You will find seeds
and flowers in most areas of the wood.
Sheet 15: HABITATS AND FOOD CHAINS
It is helpful for the class to have some understanding of the concept of
habitats before using this sheet. Grassy areas include the picnic
area and the Christmas tree plantation.
The answers to the food chains given are: fallen
leaf > millipede > blackbird
fallen leaf > earthworm > mole
chestnut > mouse > tawny owl
green leaf > caterpillar > blue tit > sparrowhawk
dead wood > fungus > slug > hedgehog
Sheet 16: MAKE A MAP
This activity uses the top half of the wood. Bring compasses for
each group (or you can borrow some from us). Clipboards needed.
It is helpful if the class have done some introductory work on maps.
The answers to the symbol questions are: D4 Pond, D3
[Christmas tree], E6 [swing], G4 [picnic table].
Use the easy-access trail, (past the play area, following black arrows,)
for the map drawing exercise. |