Business Support

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We are pleased to announce that we have qualified for some free business support through a Scottish Government funded programme called Accelerate which helps third sector organisations like us work towards achieving sustainability. More information on the programme is at this link. The support is being delivered by Community Enterprise, who are a social enterprise and consultancy to third sector organisations and community groups. Our initial meeting with Community Enterprise took place this week, and their support will focus on research into developing our current service as well as investigating potential additional services we could offer, for example, expanding our outdoor learning activities or offering our outdoor learning service as an after-school activity or as holiday club activities. Their research is likely to take the form of questionnaires and surveys and we will highlight them as they become available.

Buzzards

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Yesterday, as we left the woods, we spotted a buzzard flying overheard. We have heard a buzzard call a couple of times but this is the first time we have seen it. After looking at the photographs today, the children were very interested in finding out more about buzzards. We found an RSPB website and the children were particularly keen to listen to the sound the buzzards make and pressed the “play” button repeatedly to hear the call. We learned that buzzards have a wing span of between 113 and 128cm – that’s bigger than nearly all of our children. We printed out some photographs and put them up on our wall.

When we went out to play in the garden we became very excited to see 3 buzzards flying overhead – we watched and listened to them as they flew around (staff were as excited as the children!)

Woodland Play 10 Oct 2019

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In the woods today we were building on the interest the children have shown in finding and collecting acorns. Yesterday we learned how to identify an oak tree by looking at the shape of its leaves. Today we walked through the woods and tried to spot more oak trees. We were excited to find a tiny little baby oak (we put sticks around it to protect it because we were worried someone might stand on it) and also an enormous oak tree that took 4 children to stretch their arms around it. We learned that oak trees are known as the King of the Forest and that they grow very slowly but are very strong. Jane, Jordan and Lynda also learned that oak trees produce male and female flowers – the male flowers develop in a group called a catkin. Catkins hang down from twigs and release their pollen into the air where they are blown around to pollinate a nearby female flower.  After pollination, the base of the female flower forms a woody cup, and the flower forms a woody fruit called a nut – an acorn!

We put wood cookie labels on some of the oak trees we found. If you are walking in the woods maybe you will spot one!