May half term events at Woodlands Farm

Hannah, the Education Officer at Woodlands Farm, sent details of their February half term events for children:

Wednesday 28th May Make a Cress Head
Sessions at 11am and 1pm. £2 per child, accompanying adults free
Come and join us to make a fun cress head to take home. You will have a chance to plant your cress seed and then decorate your head so it has a fun face ready for when his cress hair grows.
Booking is essential, call 020 8319 8900

Thursday 29th May Pond Dipping
Sessions at 10am, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. £1 per child, accompanying adults free
Come and see what you can find hidden beneath the surface of the water. Using nets we will delve into this mysterious world.
Booking is essential, call 020 8319 8900

Friday 30th May Ugly Bug Ball
11am-3pm. £2 per child
Join us for a day all about bugs. You can go on a bug hunt or go in search of bumble bees. There will also be a chance to look up close at the parts of different insects using our microscopes as well as become a bug yourself with our antennae making craft!
No need to book, just drop in between 11am-3pm. For more information call 020 8319 8900.

For more information, see our website or contact Hannah Forshaw on education@thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org
We are a farm so sensible shoes and clothing are recommended! We do allow dogs, but please note that these must be kept on a lead and not taken into any farm buildings.

Hannah will be combining the children’s activities with two of her set of wildlife surveys for 2014: a newt and pond life survey on 29th May and a Bumblebee survey on 30th. The following surveys are also planned:

11th June, 3pm: Meadow plants
18th June, 2pm: Newt and pond life
18th June, TBC: Bats
25th June, 3pm: Meadow plants
2nd July, TBC: Bats
8th July, 3pm: Opal Biodiversity Hedgerow survey
15th July, 3pm: Opal Tree health survey
22nd July, 11am: Big Butterfly Count

All the information about wildlife collected in the surveys is submitted to GIGL (Greenspace Information for Greater London), formerly the London Biological Recording Project, who “collate, manage and make available detailed information on London’s wildlife, parks, nature reserves, gardens and other open spaces.”  The OPAL surveys are part of the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) citizen science initiative. The results of the bat survey are also submitted  to the Bat Conservation Trust’s annual field survey and entered on their Big Bat Map.