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Environmental Education Report
DENSO Manufacturing UK Limited, Telford, England.
Overview
The DENSO Eco Garden contains good examples of habitats suitable for visiting schools.
The main habitats are woodland, grassland and freshwater.
This report looks at each of the main habitats and describes some of the species you can
find there throughout the year. It will also outline activities suitable for visiting educational
groups at Key Stages 1-3. (Children aged 5-14 years).
Key Stage 1 = 5-7 years
Key Stage 2 = 7-11 years
Key Stage 3 = 11-14 years
Habitats in the Eco Garden
Woodland Woodland and scrub cover much of the Eco Garden area. It consists of mixed native and
non-native species.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) Hawthorn is one of the commonest trees in Britain. It grows
quickly in hedges and provides birds and invertebrates with
important sources of food in early spring and autumn. The
alternative name for this species is
May or Whitethorn, after the sugary
white clusters of flowers which
appear in mid May each year. In
historic times it was considered good
luck to place Hawthorn branches
outside houses to ward off evil. The
red berries or Haws have medicinal properties linking to
circulation and heart problems.
Elder (Sambucus nigra) Elder is a medium sized, fast growing tree common in hedgerows
and as an under storey plant in woodlands. The stems contain soft
pith which can be removed in order to make peashooters, whistles
and jewellery from the hollow stems. Please see the woodland
activities section below for more information.
Because of the pithy stems, Elder is no good for burning.
Elder flowers make great champagnes and cordials in June and
the purple berries make excellent syrups, cordials and dyes from
September.
Hazel (Coryllus avellana) Hazel was one of the first species to colonise the UK after the last
Ice Age. It is a good wood for charcoal burning and was a key
material in local cottage industries before the Industrial
Revolution. Hazel can be coppiced or cut every 7-8 years,
producing many small straight poles. These Hazel poles can be
used as walking sticks, fence posts, den building materials and
good, bright firewood.
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) Rowan is a small, delicate looking tree. It produces sprays of white
flowers in spring which turn into clusters of bright red berries in late
summer. These berries are another important food source for birds
in autumn and winter.
Rowan wood is pale in colour and excellent for carving and
whittling.
Italian alder (Alnus cordata) Italian alder is a non-native species that has been extensively
planted throughout the Eco Garden. It produces large male
and female catkins each year.
Snowberry (Symphoricarpus) Snowberry attracts lots of insects such as bumblebees, honeybees
and hoverflies. It is a fast growing species providing cover for
mammals and nesting birds. The shrub produces white berries
each autumn. These can cause a mild irritation to the skin if
handled, so please wear gloves.
Woodland activities
The Wildlife Trusts have produced lots of free resources to help you get the most out of
your woodland habitat. Please visit our Wildlife Watch pages for games, downloads,
activities and spotters sheets linked to trees. www.wildlifewatch.org.uk
In addition the Woodland Trust has a whole range of tree themed activity ideas with
worksheets for schools at http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/learning-
kids/schools/Pages/stuff-to-do.aspx#.UfZBQNRwbow
Woodland micro trails (Key Stage 2)
Duration: 30 minutes Equipment: Approx. 100 lollipop sticks (available from scrap stores), 8
balls of coloured string/wool.
Small groups of children create trails through the woodland using
lollipop sticks as sign posts and wool marking a route roughly 5 metres
in length.
Micro trails turn pebbles into mountains and a patch of daisies into a
huge rainforest. This is a great activity which gets children closer to the ground, slowing
down and looking closely at woodland wildlife. It will be surprising what they discover.
Journey Sticks (Key Stage 1)
Duration: 1 hour Group size: 15 Equipment: 15 small sticks roughly 30 cm long. Several balls of
brightly coloured wool cut into 30cm lengths.
Each child finds a small stick to decorate as they walk through
the woodland. The group leader leaves piles of brightly
coloured wool at certain points along the trail for the children
to discover. At each point they use the wool to tie a natural
object to their journey sticks. At the end of the trail use the sticks
to describe where they have been and how they felt along the
way.
Leaf snap (Key Stage 1-2)
Duration: 20 minutes Collect 5 or 6 examples of leaves from 5 different species of tree. These leaves can be
laminated if you wish to keep them for a few weeks. Divide the visiting group into teams
and have a race. Which team will be the first to find the matching leaves around the
garden? What similarities and differences can they see in the leaves?
Respect your Elder (Key Stage 1-2)
Duration: 30 minutes to 3 hours Elder is a superbly useful species for environmental activities. The deep red berries make a
rich paint in autumn. Use squares of calico or cotton as canvas for elderberry splodge
painting during September and October, but remember to leave enough berries for the
birds.
Elder Jewellery (Key Stage 1-2)
Duration: 1 hour Cut small stems of elder in winter and snip them into beads of 2cm lengths. Use a small
stick or pin to push out the soft centre of each bead and thread them together to make
friendship bracelets and necklaces.
Tree Measuring (Key Stage 2)
Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour. Follow the link below for activities to find and measure the biggest, oldest and tallest trees
in the woods. It is great for developing maths and problem solving skills.
www.foresteducation.org/images/uploads/Tree_Measuring_1.pdf
Fossil hunting The excavation of the woodland pond has revealed
some interesting geology in the form of limestone from
the Carboniferous era. At this time, Shropshire was
covered in swamps with associated vegetation. The
fossils I found during my visit contained bark impressions
and gingko leaves dating back at least 300 million
years. Visiting groups would greatly enjoy fossil hunting
with links to National Curriculum topics on evolution,
adaptation and extinction at Key Stage 2 and 3.
Resources for fossil studies and identification are available from Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
Grassland
Limestone meadows characterise the open spaces in the Eco Garden. The meadow
plants are well established, including at least 30 Bee Orchids and one example of a
Southern Marsh Orchid. There is a wealth of activities suitable for use in the meadows, but
consideration should be given to minimising the disturbance school visits may cause.
Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) Bee orchids are notoriously unpredictable plants.
Popping up in places for some years then suddenly
disappearing again. They produce large quantities of
seed that like to establish in patches of free draining,
disturbed ground. Hence some form of light disturbance
of the soil by children running about and scuffing the
ground is to be encouraged in small areas nearby.
In May an erect flower stem produces between 2 and 6 rather spectacular flowers that
open successively until the end of July. The lower flower lip is velvety and mimics the body
of a bee. The scent given off by the flower is similar to a female bee too. Male bees are
attracted to the orchid because they want to mate with what appears to be a female
visiting the flower. In the process they inadvertently pollinate it.
Photograph: Dan Wrench
It is now thought, however, that in England the orchid produces asexually and that the
species of bee that it evolved to attract is not found here. The flowers therefore have a
mechanism of self pollination. Thousands of tiny seeds are produced that can be
scattered long distances by the wind.
Each plant flowers only once and it takes between 5 and 8 years to develop to the point
of flowering. Successful germination depends on the seed developing a symbiotic
relationship with fungal hyphae in the soil, from which they obtain nutrients.
In order to retain the Bee Orchids mowing should be avoided from April until after the
seeds have been dispersed. Fertilizers and fungicides should not be used as this will upset
the relationship between the orchid and the fungal hyphae in the soil.
Wild strawberry (Fragraria vesca) Wild strawberries can be found all over the Eco Garden, even in the
woodland. The fruits are tiny and edible. Wild strawberries are
common on limestone grassland and will spread over wide areas
using runners called stolons.
Lesser trefoil (Trifolium dubium) According to some legends, the
Lesser Trefoil is the original shamrock that St Patrick used to
explain the Holy Trinity to the people of Ireland. It is this
plant that is commonly worn in Ireland to commemorate
their Saint’s day.
Common vetch (Vicia sativa)
Common vetch is a member of the pea or legume family.
It releases nectar from black spots under each flower, in
order to attract ants. These ants collect the nectar and
help to pollinate the plant and spread the seeds across a
wide area.
Grassland Activities
Rainbow chips (Key Stage 1-2)
Duration: 20-30 minutes This activity uses coloured paint swatches, or blobs of coloured
modelling clay.
Can the group find matching colours in the grassland? Remember
to only collect tiny fragments of plants and flowers in order to
minimise disturbance to the meadow. Turn the colourful petals into
a collage or natural bookmark by placing strips of double-sided
tape onto bookmark sized strips of card.
Smelly cocktails (Key Stage 1-2)
Duration: 20 minutes Small groups collect different smells from around the meadow and stir them into pots to
make magic potions or “Smelly Cocktails”. Encourage the group to smell different objects
such as soil, leaves, tree bark, stones and grass. Give the cocktails a name and pass them
round at your Smelly Cocktail party!
Butterfly Feeders (Key Stage 1-2) Duration: 20 minutes During the summer butterflies will be seen
flitting through the grassland. To encourage
even more, or for back at school, follow this
link to discover how to make a butterfly
feeder;
http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/images/activity_sheets/butterfly_feeder_activity_sheet.pdf
Plant study (Key Stage 1-3) Duration: 1hour or more Randomly distribute quadrats across the grassland and carry out a vegetation survey.
Identify the species present and estimate the percentage cover within the quadrat.
Compare quadrats from different areas – is each one the same? Are some plants
dominant in certain areas? How might they be adapted to survive here?
Wetland
There are two ponds in the Eco garden, a large pond in the open meadow and a smaller
woodland pond. Ponds are ideal for studies of lifecycles, food chains, adaptations and
comparisons of animals in and out of the water. Pond dipping activities can be linked to
almost any subject in the curriculum. The best activity is to just look. Everyone who pond
dips for the first time is amazed at the diversity of life to be found. Have a look at gills, legs
and eyes under the microscope – look at how different creatures move, some disco
dance, others slide and ooze along. Consider the mechanics of movement. Be sure to
put what you find into a white tray or container to make the minibeasts easier to see.
Both ponds are full of life including the following invertebrate species:
Dragonflies and Damselflies (Odonata) Dragonflies and damselflies can be seen flying around the
ponds during the summer months. A successful pond dip should
bring up the larvae of Black Tailed Skimmers (Orthetrum
cancellatum), Broad Bodied Chasers (Libellula depressa) and
Azure Blue Damselflies (Coenagrion puella).
More information can be found by visiting this Wildlife Trust link;
www.wildlifetrusts.org/living-landscape/water-wetlands
More information on Dragonflies and Damselflies can be found here;
www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/
Whirligig beetles (Gyrinius substriatus) This small metallic black beetle gets its name form the way it swims
rapidly in circles across the surface of the pond. They are unusual in
that their eyes are divided so that they can see both underwater
and above the surface at the same time. Whirligig beetles are
scavengers, meaning they eat decaying plant and animals.
Greater water boatmen (Notonecta) Greater Water Boatmen are also known as Backswimmers
due to their habit of swimming upside down in the pond.
They belong to a group of minibeasts known as true bugs,
because they have piercing and sucking mouthparts.
Freshwater activities
Pond animal shopping list (Key Stage 1-2) Duration: 30 minutes After talking about the kinds of animals you might find, invite the group to think about
what they want to find out about a particular animal. Give groups a large sheet of sugar
paper with felt pens and ask them to create a shopping list of all the things they want to
find out about each animal (such as; what does it really look like? Where does it live? How
does it move? Breathe? Eat? What colour? Does it have any enemies? Is it an adult?).
Pool all the ideas to make one shopping list and take this out with you. You may not refer
to the list when out but this will have focused the attention of the group.
Pond gazing (Key Stage 1-2) Duration: 15 minutes Before you start dipping, lay everyone on ground by the pond and observe what is
happening. How many animals can you see? What are they doing? How do they move?
Where are they found?
Minibeasts of the Eco Garden
There is a wealth of invertebrate life throughout
the Eco Garden and any activity that gets
groups catching and looking closely at
minibeasts will prove to be exciting and
absorbing. It is possible to spend many hours just
carrying out bug hunts in each of the main
habitats described above.
Please visit this link for instructions on making bug
hunting nets and how to carry out a successful bug hunt;
http://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/activity-sheets
Basic equipment for a bug hunt
8 insect nets or pond dipping nets
8 white trays or white cotton sheets approx. 1m x 1m
Lots of identification guides (Field Studies Council identification keys are available
from Shropshire Wildlife Trust)
20 bug pots, preferably with magnifiers in the lids
20 magnifying glasses
30 paintbrushes for brushing bugs into pots
30 plastic spoons (Pond dipping only)
15 white plastic paint pallets for sorting pond creatures into similar groups
Pencils, paper and clipboards
Try to structure your bug hunts so that groups can compare the animals in woodland,
grassland and freshwater habitat. Look at the colours of minibeasts, how they move and
what they eat. How are they adapted to where they live? Which habitat will contain the
most spiders, beetles or grasshoppers?
All around the woodland pond are large stones. Careful lifting of these stones reveals
beetle larvae, ground beetles and a species of Millipede called a Pill Bug. They look just
like woodlice, but when you tickle them they roll into a ball!
Safety First: Please make sure that you are comfortable with leading safe pond dipping
sessions. Shropshire Wildlife Trust can advise on Risk Assessments and safety procedures.
Shropshire Wildlife Trust staff can also provide:
• Advice for grounds development for wildlife
• Tailor made sessions for pupils – both in the grounds and the classroom
• Talks about the work of the Trust for any audience
• A field guide for trips to reserves
• Professional training for adults
• Planning support
Our ‘Outdoor Education’ brochure is included for your information along with our
resources catalogue. Please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss any further
requirements.
Author: Sara Bellis, People and Wildlife Officer, Shropshire Wildlife Trust
July 2013
Shropshire Wildlife Trust is a registered charity number 212744
It is a company registered in England and Wales number 729746
Registered Address 193 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6AH
Our members help us to protect Shropshire's wildlife - join today
visit www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk for more information.