Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland Bulletin November ... · The winner of 2018 Scotland’s Finest Woods Award for Schools – St. Mary’s School have continued their woodland

Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland Bulletin

November/December 2018

Welcome to the OWL Scotland bulletin which contains content from the Outdoor Learning Wales bulletin– Thank you to OLW for letting us share their bulletin! You can find more information on Outdoor Learning Wales here. If you have items for inclusion in the bulletin please send them to [email protected] OWL Scotland – National News New Resources Leaflet We have produced a new leaflet outlining our Free Education Resources and how to download or order them. OWL Scotland National Networking Event

The national networking event details are finalised as follows:

Date: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th February

Venue: Dounans Centre, Aberfoyle, By Stirling

Cost: £60 for the weekend (cost to OWL Group office bearers £40)

Accommodation is in dorms. Cost includes all meals from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch and the full programme of workshops etc.

OWL Scotland members will be given priority booking until 7th January 2019. The event will comprise national and local updates, networking opportunities, and a variety of workshops including Outdoor Winter Play, Peg Loom Weaving, Tree Measuring and lots more. We will be sending out information on booking to our subscribers and OWL Group members in December. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Kubb making workshop at last year’s networking event

OWL Scotland Review 2017/18 Published

The latest for 2017/18 is now available. The review reports on the OWL Scotland Reportactivities of OWL Scotland nationally and locally and shows the scope of outdoor learning activities being undertaken throughout Scotland. It includes local case studies and output statistics. Thank you to everyone who contributed and to all the OWL Groups and their members for their hard work and enthusiasm throughout the year.

Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards

The winner of 2018 Scotland’s Finest Woods Award for Schools – St. Mary’s School have continued their woodland project by planting the First World War Centenary Avenue. Children, staff, parents and community members joined together to plant the First World War Centenary Avenue. Copper Beeches were planted along both sides of Annay Road in Melrose; a distance of over 1 mile. The trees were planted to serve as a lasting natural monument in memory of those people from the Scottish Borders who fought in the First World War. It is hoped that, for many years to come, those young people who took part will be able to see their tree growing strongly by the edge of the road. The avenue will be marked by a carved memorial stone. The trees were funded by a grant from the Borders Forest Trust and Tweed Forum and the stone was paid for using the prize money from the award. The rest of the money was used to start a project called #1918oaks aiming to grow 1918 oaks from acorns in box nurseries made from discarded pallets in partnership with local primary schools. You can follow these projects on Instagram: @greentweedeco To enter the 2019 award competition go to www.sfwa.co.uk

Tom Rawson with one of the pallet tables for the tree nursery.

Outdoor Learning Wales Collaboration OWL Scotland and Outdoor Learning Wales have been successfully collaborating for many years. OLW recently published their version of the OWL Scotland “Tree Measuring” Resource in both English and Welsh.

Cysylltu Coed a Chwricwlwm Cymru Outdoor Learning Wales have a good selection of resources for outdoor learning on their website in both English and Welsh.

Local OWL Events and News: Forth Valley OWL Group Launch The Big OWL – Forth Valley OWL Group Launch Event Forth Valley Owl Group was officially launched at The Big OWL, an event for practitioners and families at Callendar Park on 20th October. Despite a drizzly start to the day, over 60 people attended the event including local families and practitioners from schools, nurseries, community organisations and forest schools. Members of Forth Valley OWL delivered a range of workshops relating to bush craft, arts and crafts, biodiversity and teaching. In addition, two external partners were asked to contribute activities/workshops (Archaeology Scotland’s sandpit dig and Falkirk Council Rangers’ owl pellet investigation). The event was very positively received by participants and has helped to increase awareness of OWL in the Forth Valley. Six new members joined on the day; there was expressions of interest in further events and an increase in social media traffic. As one participant said, it was “very inspiring. It’s beautiful to see people gathered to learn outdoors”.

Evaluation leaves from Forth Valley OWL Launch

Greater Glasgow OWL Group (GROWL) On Sat 17 November, GROWL held a tracking workshop for 14 participants at Mugdock Park, held by Dan Puplett. The training workshop was hugely successful, with participants learning numerous skills in identifying animals and birds through their skulls, tracks, poo and more. Dan also taught the group activities and games to share when leading tracking sessions, such as a scent game and footprint moulding. Quote: "Thank you for such a great workshop! Dan was so informative and meeting you all and making contacts within the group was excellent."

GROWL Tracking workshop GROWL have three CPD workshops coming up - free to GROWL members: Outdoor First Aid Sat/Sun 8-9 December 2018 led by BASP UK Ltd Foraging workshop Sun 21 July 2019 led by Mark from Galloway Wild Foods To book, you must be a member of GROWL. Email [email protected] for more information about becoming a member or to book. The GROWL Development Officer has been focusing on building an online directory which will map all the Outdoor and Woodland Learning providers and practitioners in the Glasgow region. If you live or work in the area (either personally or via an organisation), please fill in this survey, to automatically become a GROWL member giving you access to CPD training, use of kit and to appear on our online directory (optional). We have also been developing our membership scheme, our fundraising proposal system and events programme and improving in general the way we operate.

South Highland OWL Group Into the Mountain: Embodied Environments A group of teachers and outdoor practitioners joined artist and choreographer Simone Kenyon for a most unusual and enjoyable workshop in October. We undertook a practical workshop on sensory explorations of place in the wilds of the Cairngorms. The aim of the workshop was to show how the writings of Nan Shepherd can inspire learners, and we certainly enjoyed being buffeted by the winds on the hill paths, as we immersed ourselves in the mountain environment.

Learning from Scandinavia Highlife Highland ranger Saranne Bish has recently returned from an Arch Network visit to Finland. She shared photos and stories from her trip with OWL members present, linking it to the Scottish context such as our Outdoor Access Code. There followed a general discussion about what we can learn from the Finnish model of education, and society, for our own practice. Programme for winter 2018 and spring/summer 2019 Saturday CPD workshops

The South Highland Outdoor & Woodland Learning (OWL) Group exists to support outdoor learning across the southern half of the Highlands. This group is for outdoor learning practitioners, teachers, early years’ practitioners and anyone with an interest in outdoor learning. All workshops are FREE and count for CPD time for teachers. Choose from the list below and send your name & establishment to [email protected] who will then send a confirmation and location map for each workshop. 1. Wildlife Gardens Join Sarah Walker of RSPB to share a collection of simple wildlife garden ideas to help ‘Give Nature a Home’ in your school garden. Saturday 23 February 2019 in Inverness (location tbc) from 10.00 – 13.00. 2. Outdoor Food Preparation Join us for informal training on the basics of food hygiene for use in campfire cooking in the outdoors. Saturday 23 March 2019 at Culloden Woods from 10.00 – 13.00. Max no of 12. 3. Foraging and outdoor learning Join Dan Puplett to explore the fascinating world of wild food. Learn the essentials of safe, sustainable foraging and some tasty and surprising recipes. Saturday 18 May in Inverness (location tbc) from 10.00 – 16.00. Max no of 14. 4. Art of Pewter Casting Join Lara Greene for an intensive day of working with pewter drop casting on an open fire. Back due to popular demand –book early! Saturday 22 June in Strathspey (location tbc) from 10.00 – 15.30. Max no of 12. Please bring your own lunch and outdoor clothing, we will provide hot drinks!

Follow our FACEBOOK page: www.facebook.com/groups/SouthHighlandOWL Tayside OWL Group Workshop on Building Resilience On a lovely October Saturday a group of Tayside OWL Group members met the The Shed at Kinnoul Hill. The workshop included watching the Resilience film and through group work considering how individual practice can support resilience when working with children in nature. The workshop was led by Cath Latham a practising social worker with an interest in Mindfulness and Anne Marie Mackin whose interest is as a Manager in Out of School Care and trainer with an interest in the benefits of being outdoors in supporting and building resilience. Cath led several mindfulness based exercises and time was spent discussing how to build ideas from the film into practice.

Tayside OWL Building Resilience Workshop NEWS Research Document - Outdoor learning: closing the attainment gap in primary schoolchildren in Scotland by Jamie Hamilton This Research Note compares the performances of 71 primary schoolchildren carrying out curricular tasks in outdoor and indoor classroom settings. By observing, recording and analysing how the children performed in group activities taken from the Scottish curriculum, an evaluation could be made of the relative merits of indoor and outdoor learning. In general, the results show that the outdoors environment had a more positive impact on individual and group performance than the indoor classroom. The effect of the outdoor setting on underachieving pupils was particularly notable, improving their engagement, contribution and self-confidence to match that of their peers. The results also indicate that the indoor classroom setting was less motivating, especially for those children with learning difficulties. By contrast, the richness of the outdoor setting provided an equitable learning environment

where both younger and older children thrived, not only as a place where they were able to think creatively and work independently, but one where they could also learn how to collaborate and effectively solve problems with others in their groups. Furthermore, it helped them develop an appreciation of their own abilities and the natural world around them. Therefore, increasing the use of outdoor learning through national policy-making will support cognitive and social development in primary schoolchildren, and help close the attainment gap in Scottish education. Working Forests’ Campaign Forestry Commission Scotland has released a new forest safety interactive story aimed at children. It supports the ‘working forests’ campaign. http://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/news-releases/1614-interactive-adventure-teaches-forest-safety Tree Coring on Ancient Trees Scottish Natural Heritage have published a new report about tree coring called A review of the theory and practice of tree coring on live ancient and veteran trees. You can read the full report here.

Training TCV Training

FREE TRAINING OPPORTUNITY Are you interested in free Citizen Science training? The Conservation Volunteers are offering a range of free training courses next year. Learn new skills or refresh your memory on how to lead Citizen Science based activities in your sessions.

Topics range from: deadwood and woodland, pond-life, air quality, invertebrates, mammal tracking, soil and how to integrate learning aspects of drama, art, storytelling into these. Ideal for beginning to include wildlife recording in your session, or for any interested beginners. The group setting is an ideal place to collect vital information on the natural world, while learning new skills and having fun. To register your interest and for more information contact [email protected] Find out more and follow our updates on Twitter TCV Citizen Science @TCVCitSci

Funding

Grounds for Learning

The new small grants scheme is open http://www.ltl.org.uk/naturegrants/index.php

Community Fund

The FCS Community Fund supports community groups and organisations that encourage people to use woods more. The guidance document can be found here.

Food for Thought funding Please see this Education Scotland funding signposted on OL Directory http://outdoorlearningdirectory.com/index.php/grants/908. Recipe of the month Potato and Mushroom Scones Ingredients: 500g Potatoes 25g butter 100g plain flour 100g mushrooms Extra flour and oil for cooking

Makes approx. 20 scones

• Peel chop and boil potatoes until soft • Mash the potatoes with the butter • Add the flour and mix together • Tear off small chunks and flatten slightly into discs 1cm thick, using extra flour if needed. • Cook on a hot, oiled skillet for 3 – 4 minutes each

Quote of the month “From a very early age, I had to interrupt my education by going to school” George Bernard Shaw Activity of the Month Nature Shapes The simple activity of looking for shapes in nature can bring lots of opportunities to explore the outdoors and there are many ways to do it. Keep the shapes simple for less able learners and more complex for more able learners.

Hunt for bigger shapes within the wider environment e.g. triangles in the landscape, to finding the smallest shapes in the bark of a tree for instance possibly using magnifying glasses.

To extend learning use a tally sheet and place learners into teams to shape hunt, then make a graph of which is the most popular shape in the local green space. Repeat in a different nature space such as the beach and compare findings.

Provide shaped frames for learners to look through to add a different perspective to how they view nature in different scales. Take a photo and make into a collage of nature shapes.

Make shape outlines using sticks, stones, soil, etc then use contrasting natural material to fill in the shape. For more able learners you can apply percentages of covering the shape e.g. fill in half the shape, fill in quarters using different coloured leaves, etc.

Fact of the Month Did you know that the goldcrest is the tiniest full-grown bird in Britain and is just over 3 inches long? Collective noun of the month A chine of polecats Species of the Month Polecat / Mustela putorius Polecats are found throughout Wales where valleys and farms are a favourite habitat but they can be found in gardens, low lying woodlands and grassland areas. Once, polecats were widespread throughout Great Britain, but were nearly exterminated by 1915. With blackish guard hairs and yellow under fur on the body, they have a ‘black and tan’ appearance; banded “bandit” face: pale muzzle, ear tips and ‘eyebrows’, with a broad dark band around the eyes; darker legs and belly, short fluffy tail; is the size of a ferret. Males can grow to 33-45cm, with females being a little smaller at 32-39cm. Males weigh around 0.8-1.9kg, females 0.5-1.1kg. Polecat dens are commonly found in rabbit burrows, especially in summer, but they frequently move into farmyards in winter, when they may den in hay bales, under sheds and in rubbish tips. Polecats have territories that vary in size according to habitat and food availability. For males they have been measured at 16-500 ha, and for females about 25-375 ha. Territoriality seems weaker in polecats than other mustelids, possibly because they move around more to exploit seasonally abundant food sources. There are often piles of scats near den sites, but little evidence that scats are left around the territory to defend its borders. Polecats have scent glands either side of the anus, and they produce a pungent, repellent scent.

In summer, rabbits are a main food source as polecats are small enough to hunt them within their burrows. In winter, common rats become a favoured food, and sites with good rat populations become usual habitats. Birds may be taken and frogs in spring, when gathered to spawn. Pole cats live up to 14 years in captivity, probably five years in the wild. They have one litter a year, with 5-10 young born blind and hairless in late May-early June. They begin to take meat from 3 weeks, and stay with their mothers for 2-3 months. They reach adult size by autumn, and breed at one year old. Pregnancy lasts between 40-43 days. Male polecats play no direct part in rearing the young. In addition to its protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the polecat has recently (2007) been added to the list of UK BAP mammals, protected as species of principal importance for the conservation of biological diversity in England under Section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way (CRoW) Act 2000. Habitat fragmentation, persecution by gamekeepers and being killed for their fur drastically has reduced their numbers. The polecat population was reduced to about 5,000, but is now more than 46,000. Road accidents are a major threat as they tend to be attracted to other road kill items for food. www.mammal.org.uk Plant of the Month Hairy bittercress / Cardamine hirsuta A common annual herb with rounded leaves that's considered by most gardeners to be a weed.

It can grow through the winter, though usually stays in a compact rosette form close to the ground. In winter, you'll often find it growing on bare soil in flower beds and vegetable patches. Related to the pretty cuckoo flower, bittercress is a much drabber plant with insignificant white flowers and pinnate leaves. The arrangement of flowers and seed heads is typical of members of the mustard family

Bittercress has an explosive seed mechanism by which seeds can be dispersed up to 1m (3ft) away or considerably further if carried by the wind. Seedlings may appear at most times of the year, but mainly in the summer or early autumn. As it is frost hardy it can survive the winter and will flower as temperatures rise in early spring, producing several generations in a season. Its leaves and flowers have a delicious, peppery, tangy flavour that can be added to a winter salad for a peppery taste. Works well with goats cheese and beetroot. It can also be added to soups, salsa and pesto. www.woodlandtrust.org.uk www.rhs.org.uk Contact: To contact your local OWL group please go to the OWL Scotland website Or contact us: Bonnie Maggio OWL Scotland Forestry Commission Scotland 231 Corstorphine Road Edinburgh EH12 7AT

[email protected] Join us on Facebook – “Forest Education Initiative” group (we have over 5000 members so were unable to change from our original name!)