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Summer Clubs 2010
I cant believe that its that time of year again, we are all really excited about the holiday clubs. We’re going with some of our classic and most popular activities this Summer, tried and tested, but each will have a new twist just to keep you all on your toes!! There’s also a few new trips…..Book early as last year we broke all our attendance records.
Campie Willow Den
A few weeks ago we had the chance to do some groundwork at Campie Primary, converting a disused part of their grounds into a willow den with raised beds and a willow snail! They are so thrilled with our work that they have posted about it on their blog and included some photos. Check it out.
Emma’s Last Day!
Today at our Crammond club was Emma’s last day and as of next week she will have moved to Cornwall. Although Emma was only with us for a few months she has been a fantastic member of our club and she will be sorely missed by all. We wish her good luck with her move and hope that she will remain active with her interest in wildlife and nature.
By Em!
February Clubs 2010 Gallery
Another set of holiday clubs are once again behind us and we have many photos to show for it. Thanks to all those who came along and made the clubs the huge success they were. We look forward to seeing many of you again at the Easter clubs. If you have not yet signed up for these, there are still some places available.
See you all soon and enjoy the photos!
Hibernating Ladybirds
The members of our Gillespies club this week managed to find a group of hibernating ladybirds huddled within the gap of a tree branch. Two minutes later we managed to find another groups of ladybirds! This fantastic find can be seen in the photos above. Brilliant job Gillespies!
Malmö School of Nature
Emma Pålsson from the Malmö School of Nature in Sweden recently wrote about Earth Calling in one of her newsletters. It goes on to mention what Earth Calling does, and how we managed to create a wildlife garden at Blackhall Primary.
Article: Download
Article source:Â http://www.natur.pedc.se
For those of you who don’t happen to know Swedish, here is a translation of the Earth Calling article:
Blackhall primary Edinburgh
Project manager: Angus
Nature reserve in the school yard
Angus Egan has created a natural environment in a part of the school yard along with the children and done this so well that even badgers found the  spot and made a nest. Angus works for a company called Earth Calling which gives children the opportunity to come in contact with nature in their own environment by rebuilding school yards, giving wildlife more space, and at the same time teaching the children about animals and plants in their natural habitat.
Blackhall Primary has employed Angus part time so that he gets the opportunity to work on the project during a longer period together with the children. The area is fenced and the children are only allowed here with a teacher.
Snow
Snow….. fantastic for so many reasons – snowmen, sledging, snowball fights and more. But for us wildlifers there’s another reason we love it so much, and that’s because it’s unbeatable for discovering tracks, trails and signs of wildlife. The lives of nocturnal and shy animals that normally we may only catch lucky glimpses of are suddenly all mapped out on the ground. Footprints and paths show where they live, where they go, where their highways are, where they eat, where they mark their territory. Animal tracks that wind their way through vegetation in the green months suddenly spring up again in the snow, tramped down by the wanderings of many animals. Holes in the ground whose inhabitants were once a mystery now have footprints outside them, so the secret is unveiled. After the festive holidays, our wildlife garden in Blackhall Primary School was blanketed in snow untouched by humans….. But not by wildlife! Below are some of the tracks and footprints we found – do you know what made them?
by Laura
Easter Holiday Clubs 2010
It’s that time of year again folks. Details of the Easter Holiday Clubs have now been posted in the Holiday Clubs section of the website. Better be quick though as places are already filling up.
See you in April!
Supergrounds videos
We were recently able to track down our Supergrounds video. This video was taken last year at Blackhall primary and includes an interview with our own Angus Egan!
To find out more about what Supergrounds is visit their website here.
Part 1
Part 2
Music and a fire
Another great term of wildlife clubs is at an end for many. To finish the year we have been having fires, marshmallows and playing some fantastic games. Today for the first time we had an interesting addition to these activities, music. A few of the kids from the Blackhall club brought along their music instruments and played some Christmas music, followed by a bit of freestyle jazz, and all around a lovely fire! The video is above for you to enjoy.