Children engage with nature at wildlife day at Pool Primary School

It all started with an assembly about hedgehogs led by Diane Cook, from Otley’s Prickly Pigs rescue centre. A real hedgehog was very much the centre of attention. Diane talked about the problems these intriguing creatures face, and what we can do to help.

Diane Cook with the hedgehog (Image: submitted)

After that, Year One children set about planting seeds and saplings donated by WFO members Lorraine Little and Isabel Ruiz, Moss & Moor garden centre in Ilkley and WFO itself. Lorraine was there to help the children, along with WFO trustee Helen Hey. Although the ground was very hard due to the recent lack of rainfall, every child was able to plant their own sunflower seed in a pot.

Helen Hey with a hog hole (Image: submitted)

At the same time WFO education officer Neil Griffin worked with reception children. They played educational games including ones about hibernating hedgehogs and bees visiting flowers for nectar and pollen. He then helped the Year Ones form themselves into a massive diagram of a tree. More fun and games followed with Years Two, Three and Five, including a variation on Tig where the children learned about the apex predators in the school grounds, and a blindfold game about bats’ use of echolocation.

Neil Griffin talks to the children (Image: submitted)

Neil said: “This was a day rooted in the community, with important contributions from WFO trustees and members, a local business, and also local wildlife groups, including Wharfedale Naturalists Society, who donated some of the resources I used. It was great to see the children engaging with nature and having a lot of fun. Hopefully some of them will have made a connection with wildlife that will stay with them for life. My own interest was sparked when my Year 3 teacher had us doing a topic about birds. Most of today’s sessions started with my showing the children the RSPB’s “Wow” video – two minutes of awesome footage of wildlife in the British Isles. Lots of the species can be seen around Pool and Otley, including the Red Kites that I never saw as a kid because they were extinct in England. To inspire the children we also played a game of True or False where one statement was “The fastest creature in the world lives in Leeds” (true – the Peregrine Falcon); and another stated “Birds called Swifts sleep whilst flying over Otley and Pool” (also true). There are so many incredible facts to be found in a study of local wildlife.”

Planting fun (Image: submitted)

Science lead and Year One teacher Cerian Young said: “The children had a wonderful time, and Neil, Helen, Lorraine and Diane organised some fascinating activities for them. We’re looking forward to another wildlife day next year.”

The bee game (Image: submitted)