Nature Journal
Updated weekly by our very own Nature Club.
- 13/10/23
Friday 13th October 2023
After the unseasonably warm weather we have enjoyed over the past few days, it felt decidedly autumnal this afternoon. As it had rained, it seemed a good time to dig over the outside bed where the blackcurrants grow. It had definitely benefited from the mustard seed we dug in last year, as we...Read Full Story - 05/10/23
Thursday 5th October 2023
First of all we were really pleased to welcome Lucas from Class One who found all manner of bugs today. Club members showed him the fruit trees, wormery and compost heap. Everybody took it in turns to mulch the fruit trees, courgette and blackcurrants. We talked about the leaf mould that we we...Read Full Story - 28/09/23
Thursday 28th September 2023
As part of our ongoing commitment to more responsible food production and consumption, we were very excited to unpack our worms and put them in the bottom of the wormery. Food scraps and tea bags have gone in the tray above and even the dregs of the lovage soup. Waste from the staff room was then pu...Read Full Story - 22/09/23
Friday 22nd September 2023
Last year nature club used nettles to make fertilizer and nettle soup, so this autumn we had a go at making Lovage soup. It was based on a Roman recipe, but I brought a potato from home to act as a thickener. We learnt that the name Lovage is derived from the place-name Liguria in Italy and th...Read Full Story - 14/09/23
Thursday 14th September 2023
Nature club have made a list for the rest of the term for jobs we need to do. Some of them have already been crossed off! Firstly, we moved the composter into the field, so that children can put their apple cores, banana skins etc in it at play times. Then, we used the wheelbarrow...Read Full Story - 08/09/23
Thursday 7th September 2023
As we are experiencing a mini heatwave the nature clubbers watered everything except the Mediterranean herb bed which was humming with bees. One of our fruit trees, the Victoria plum, has produced fruit in its second year. We counted 22 and they weighed in at 5 oz. They washed them and enjoyed eatin...Read Full Story - 01/09/23
Thursday 31st August 2023
Our first nature club meeting of the year unsurprisingly involved weeding and watering. The herb bed is absolutely flourishing and full of pollinators as almost every plant is flowering. The eagle-eyed children spotted various bugs which you might be able to pick out in the photo o...Read Full Story - 24/08/23
Thursday 24th August 2023
One of the exciting aspects of creating a wildlife pond is that you never know what flora or fauna will arrive as it develops. A lot of the insects such as diving beetles and pond snails have been brought in as eggs on plants we have submerged such as water mint, water soldiers and water lilie...Read Full Story - 07/07/23
Thursday 6th July 2023
Nature club really enjoyed the pond-dipping session this Thursday. We managed to identify most of the creatures, except a scorpion like one which may have been the larvae of a damsel fly. We spotted leech, pond snail, pond skaters, water boatmen, diving beetle, spider and ladybird, as we...Read Full Story - 30/06/23
Thursday 29th June 2023
It was the final session on Thursday where the pupils choose an activity and Parker had organised an amazing treasure hunt in the nature area, which called on all the children’s knowledge that they have developed over the year. The rain held off and they all entered into the spirit of it...Read Full Story - 22/06/23
Thursday 22nd June 2023
Really pleasing to see all the dill and coriander coming up that we planted, which means that we now have 14 kinds of herb. It was Louisa's turn to be Head Chef this week and she chose oregano and chives to be cooked with....you guessed it...pasta! Next week Parker has chosen a treasure hu...Read Full Story - 15/06/23
Thursday 15th June 2023
This week our new Head Chef Lila was cooking with herbs. She picked oregano and sage, which have really bushed out in this warm weather and added them to a tomato sauce flavoured with onion and garlic. All six children had two helpings, as well as Adam and myself. Everyone declared it delicious. It...Read Full Story