This term during our Forest School sessions in Manchester the children have been learning some interesting facts about the Wildlife Trusts, and why it is so important to understand that we are all part of nature and everything we do has an impact within the natural environment. In a nutshell we depend on nature and it depends on us!
Around the campfire during snack time it was discussed why everyone should have the opportunity to experience the pleasure of wildlife in their daily lives.
To capture the children’s imagination, we identified badgers as the Wildlife Trust’s logo. The black and white striped badger was chosen because it is an iconic species in the UK and our biggest land predator. It is a common species, turning up in gardens, woodland, farmland and grassland.
For fun we asked the children a variety of different interesting facts about badgers. They could run towards the 'yes or no' post in response. The following week I was amazed at the children’s memory recall of all the past week's badger facts. The popular ones were:
I also mentioned the honey badger from Africa as it is rather impressive and sparked lots of interesting questions from the group. They loved that it is fearless of other animals (even lions).
As the group enjoyed making crafts during their Forest school sessions, we cut some tree cookies and painted badger faces on them. Some children dug into the ground and put their badgers into a sett for them to live happily in.
If you are out and about in the dark of the night and are lucky enough to see some badgers, keep in mind that they are a significant member of the UK's wildlife, keeping our beautiful countryside healthy. I know the pupils from The Holy Name Primary School in Manchester will, for sure.
To find out more about our Forest School Project in Manchester, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, click the button below.
