Activities

These are activities that children can be involved in when they visit Foxglove Covert. The times give an estimation of the length of the activity.

	Activity
Pond Dipping	May June July Sept (*)	30 mins
Habitat Walk	All year	30 to 60 mins
Mini-beast Hunt at the Outdoor Classroom	May June July Sept (*)	60 mins
Poetry Walk Writing of poetry	All year	60 mins 30 mins
Flower Walk	April May June July Sept (*)	45 mins
Bees, Birds and Quiz in the Activity Room	All year	30 mins
Season Walks	All year	45 mins
Work Visits	These can only be accommodated between November and February

Other activities can be arranged if discussed with the Reserve Managers.

The activities are organised for the age and ability of the children.

Pond Dipping - There are opportunities during this activity for the children to listen, observe, use keys, record information, and learn about respect for wildlife. Children will have to work together.

Habitat Walk – During the walk there will be opportunities for the children to enhance their listening and observation skills, and to ask questions. They will learn about the different habitats.

Mini-beast Hunt – Respect for wildlife is important during this activity. Children will learn how to collect mini-beasts using a variety of methods. They will have the opportunity to observe, record, report, ask and answer questions. Children will have to co-operate with each other.

Poetry Walk – This walk allows children to observe their surroundings and the plants and animals living there. They will record vocabulary to describe what they have seen. The words written down are then used to write a poem. As many children and adults as possible will be encouraged to read out their poems.

Flower Walk – Opportunities to observe, record and learn about flowers and plants. Variation, plant requirements and the importance of plants can all be incorporated. Flower petal shape, colour and patterns will be pointed out. Identification of some common flowers is encouraged.

Bees, Birds and Quiz in the Activity Room – From the Activity Room windows the back garden feeding station can be observed. An opportunity to spot some of our colour ringed Bullfinches and Blackbirds and learn about Bird Ringing at Foxglove Covert. The indoor beehive allows children to view the working of the bees. The Activity Room is a treasure trove of information and there are activity sheets that allow children to explore this.

Seasons Walks – Children will learn about the seasons and how these affect the plants and animals in different habitats. Observational and listening skills will be enhanced.

Work Visits – Children will have the opportunity to be involved with the conservation and maintenance of the habitats on the reserve. This could include clearing brash and burning it, pruning trees and shrubs or building a dead hedge. It is important to note that this activity can only be offered during the months stated. Discussions must be held with the reserve managers well before the visit to ensure that the appropriate activity is able to be carried out.

How your day could be arranged

These two charts give examples of how your day could be arranged.

This chart is for 2 groups

Time	Group A	time	Group B	time
10.00 to 10.30	Collect from, sign and walk in, organise etc
10.30 to 12.15	Outdoor classroom	1 3/4 hours	Habitat walk Pond dipping	1 3/4 hours
12.15 to 12.45	Lunch all together at Field Centre
12.30 to 14.15	Habitat walk Pond dipping	1 3/4 hours	Outdoor classroom	1 3/4 hours
14.15 to 14.30	Walk back to Sign

This chart is for 3 groups

Time	Group A	time	Group B	time	Group C	time
10.00 to 10.30	Collect from, sign and walk in, organise etc
10.30 to 11.30	Outdoor classroom mini-beast	60 mins	Habitat walk	60 mins	Pond dipping Activity Room	30 mins 30 mins
11.30 to 12.30	Habitat walk	60 mins	Pond dipping Activity Room	30 mins 30 mins	Outdoor classroom mini-beast	60 mins
12.30 to 13.00	Lunch
13.00 to 14.00	Pond dipping Activity Room	30 mins 30 mins	Outdoor classroom mini-beast	60 mins	Habitat walk	60 mins

Please read our 'Plan your Visit' guide before filling in the online booking enquiry form.

Activities

Activity

Time of year

Timing

How your day could be arranged

Also In This Section