Children’s Summer Nature Day, Easton Village Hall, Wells

23rd August 10.30am to 2.30pm

Huge thanks should go to Lucie Taylor Hood for organising such a special day and to Francis Smith from Studio Cultivate who organised a fantastic series of activities around the theme of hedgehogs. The children were enthralled from the very beginning and learnt so much about nature in general and hedgehogs in particular. The parents and grandparents did too!

The day started with the children sitting on the floor jointly building a field maple tree, from the roots up through the trunk to the petioles and leaves.
A family of hedgehogs were given a home at the base of the tree - Spike (mum), Milligan and Lee (hoglets). We also learnt about the food that hedgehogs like to eat – worms, various creepy crawlies and berries and their main predator, the badger.

This was followed by an individual activity where the children were asked to make a model hoglet, using clay for the body. They were told that there would be a prize for the best hoglet at the end of the session and were soon engrossed. Natural resources such as field maple leaves and poplar leaves were needed for their long petioles to make the hoglet’s spikes, and elderberries and hawthorn berries were needed for the nose and eyes.

We all walked from the Village Hall and collection bags started filling up quite quickly as there were lots of elderberries in the hedges as we walked up the hill. We saw lots of evidence that badgers were living in the area. We continued up the hill and into a field with fabulous views of the surrounding countryside.

This was an ideal spot for our picnics and the children had time to play before returning to the Village Hall to complete their hoglets. Much fun was had exploring a bit further afield with Francis and in chasing grasshoppers. Most of the parents and grandparents had a rest under a shady tree.

Review by Granny Jane

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