What a busy couple of weeks, despite the chill factor there has been a lot of folks getting outside recently to follow in John Muir’s footsteps…
On Saturday I spent the morning with 40 DofE Leaders in Eastbourne. I led a workshop at their group meeting where we discussed the options for using the John Muir Award in conjunction with their activities. It was a really stimulating discussion with great energy for getting involved and making connections to the South Downs National Park. More information on DofE and Muir connections here.
On Monday I joined Angmering School, Year 10 group, to find out about what they had been doing and found myself learning to juggle oranges… We then made the oranges into fat ball feeders for the birds and hung them in the garden. These young people were really getting into identifying birds and could even tell me the differences between the various gulls circling in from the sea. They are hoping to complete a survey of the birds at school soon. We then got some maps out and took a look at the South Downs. They were able to find sites that they had been to and we soon got onto looking at my image collection to discover the 7 Special Qualities. It is always interesting to see what young people like about the National Park – this group had a big affinity for peaceful places and spots to get out on bikes. You can see what they are up to on their blog. I’m looking forward to seeing their display for the conference…
On Tuesday I was with Nikki at Second Nature in Stanmer Park. She’s working with the free school in Lewes with activities towards a Discovery Award. The school caught the bus and then walked up to the site through the park – they were enjoying a well earned snack when I arrived. Birds featured again in their activities with the group making pine cone feeders and setting up a feeding station. They then dived into the hide and learnt to use binoculars. A cheeky little robin was great practice, his bold and fearless nature bringing him in very close to pinch seeds from the bowls.
Discover more about how to get your school involved in the John Muir Award or email to JohnMuirAward@southdowns.gov.uk