The same boy who collected slugs on a stick two weeks ago spent more time collecting slugs and also found a great crested newt today. He was blackberry picking alongside slug hunting, hence the stained fingers!
We made lavender bags, crowns (out of silver birch branches) and 'cress caterpillars' (something like - this). The children entertained themselves with den building and blackberry picking (though there aren't many ripe ones yet). There was also pond dipping, a walk in the woods, a bird trail and then we had the Earth ball out in the afternoon.
I spent the best part of an hour bearing the weight of the world plus teenage boys (quite heavy!), keeping the ball steady (on a slope!) against a wall so children could climb up on to the wall and then on to the ball and be 'on top of the world'!
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| photo of me taken on my camera by one of the boys. |
Then we had to deflate the thing after the children had gone - that was a bit of a workout too!
Spotty slug and cute newt! I can't believe I am considering a slug to be cute! Ha ha!!!!
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hehe. It might be leopard slug, but I'm not sure. Trying to get a certain ID!
DeleteGreat photos Louise, looks like everyone had fun. I thought nobody was allowed to handle Great Crested Newts without a special permit.
ReplyDeleteYes you are quite right and I'm not licensed! However, my personal opinion is that a bit of common sense should be applied in these situations. We weren't searching for newts, we weren't consciously disturbing any - the boy picked up what he thought was a black slug then realised he had a "lizard" and brought it to show me. I wasn't going to demand he put it down immediately as that totally defeats the object of 'wildplay' and engaging children with nature! I told him it was a g.c. newt and explained that really only people with a special license are allowed to handle them but as he wasn't hurting it and the newt didn't seem to mind, he could hold it for a minute to have a look (whilst I took a few photos) and then we released it exactly where he picked it up. No harm done.
DeleteI agree with your thinking Louise and it's great that wildplay allows youngsters to see wildlife up close. It's so important to get them involved at an early age as they will grow up with an appreciation for all things wild. I think you're doing a great thing being involved in this actvities.
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