Coaxing children out into the garden and away from technology can be daunting, but the reward of seeing a child’s eyes light up in awe of nature is priceless. As William Wordsworth once said: “Let nature be your teacher”.
Here is a list of easy-to-do projects you might like to try this summer to encourage wildlife into your garden – and, with a bit of luck, nature might win out over technology at least for the summer months.
Allow the children to discover more about the little creatures that live in the garden.
Many of these projects will encourage new visitors too and the projects are all about making habitats that will encourage them to stick around.
As the garden develops, child-
ren will find lots of new and interesting insects, birds and animals appearing.
• Grow a patch of wildflowers to make a mini meadow.• Feed the birds.• Create an area of wild lawn.• Grow a wildlife hedge.• Plant native trees.• Build a willow dome.• Plant butterfly- and bee-friendly plants.• Install nest boxes.• Build a bug hotel.Project 1:
Build A Bug Hotel
This can be any shape or size. Ideally use up items you find in your garden and shed to teach children about recycling.
It is a good idea to use one decent-size container, similar to a doll’s house, as the basic shell.
For this project I reused a timber box and gathered old bricks, stones, sticks, leaves, pieces of bark and a couple of lengths of timber with holes drilled through them (to help encourage insects to leave larvae to gestate). By using a range of materials, you will get a wide range of diversity of insect life.
You could do a much larger one if you want, using old pallets stacked on top of each other. The list of materials that can be used is endless: pine cones, bamboo canes, moss, cardboard, old flower pots, etc.
The idea is to provide shelter for insects, and bug hotels can be designed to allow insects such as ladybirds and butterflies to hibernate. Gardeners use bug hotels in their fruit and vegetable patches to encourage pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Project 2:
A Shooting Seed
This is a fun and educational project for children of all ages. You will need:
White blotting paper
A glass jar with a lid
Water
Broad bean seeds
Cotton wool balls
Seeds need to absorb moisture in order to germinate. You can see how the seed swells up and a shoot begins to burst through.
1. Cut out a small sheet of blotting paper to fit inside the glass jar. Push it up against the sides of the jar, allowing the edges to overlap. It is best to use blotting paper as it is durable, even when wet.
2. Fill the centre of the jar with cotton wool balls and pour in some water, just a little, barely enough to create a little reservoir. Seeds need moisture and air for germination. Just be careful not to drown your broad bean!
3. Select a few healthy-looking broad beans and place them between the glass and the blotting paper, which will now be damp. Space them out evenly.
4. Put the lid on the jar, this will keep humidity high.
5. Put the jar in a place that you can observe development, ideally in a warm light spot.
6. After five or six days you will see a green shoot growing upwards and some roots growing downwards. The shoot will then go on to develop leaves. CL
Maura Sheehy is a flower farmer and florist who runs Maura’s Cottage Flowers near Tralee, Co Kerry. Maura specialises in growing and supplying natural and unique arrangements for weddings, funerals, special occasions and for local businesses, as well as running regular flower-arranging classes at her studio. She also has experience in school garden projects. For further information, call 087 061 2622 or visit www.maurascottageflowers.com.
Coaxing children out into the garden and away from technology can be daunting, but the reward of seeing a child’s eyes light up in awe of nature is priceless. As William Wordsworth once said: “Let nature be your teacher”.
Here is a list of easy-to-do projects you might like to try this summer to encourage wildlife into your garden – and, with a bit of luck, nature might win out over technology at least for the summer months.
Allow the children to discover more about the little creatures that live in the garden.
Many of these projects will encourage new visitors too and the projects are all about making habitats that will encourage them to stick around.
As the garden develops, child-
ren will find lots of new and interesting insects, birds and animals appearing.
• Grow a patch of wildflowers to make a mini meadow.• Feed the birds.• Create an area of wild lawn.• Grow a wildlife hedge.• Plant native trees.• Build a willow dome.• Plant butterfly- and bee-friendly plants.• Install nest boxes.• Build a bug hotel.Project 1:
Build A Bug Hotel
This can be any shape or size. Ideally use up items you find in your garden and shed to teach children about recycling.
It is a good idea to use one decent-size container, similar to a doll’s house, as the basic shell.
For this project I reused a timber box and gathered old bricks, stones, sticks, leaves, pieces of bark and a couple of lengths of timber with holes drilled through them (to help encourage insects to leave larvae to gestate). By using a range of materials, you will get a wide range of diversity of insect life.
You could do a much larger one if you want, using old pallets stacked on top of each other. The list of materials that can be used is endless: pine cones, bamboo canes, moss, cardboard, old flower pots, etc.
The idea is to provide shelter for insects, and bug hotels can be designed to allow insects such as ladybirds and butterflies to hibernate. Gardeners use bug hotels in their fruit and vegetable patches to encourage pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Project 2:
A Shooting Seed
This is a fun and educational project for children of all ages. You will need:
White blotting paper
A glass jar with a lid
Water
Broad bean seeds
Cotton wool balls
Seeds need to absorb moisture in order to germinate. You can see how the seed swells up and a shoot begins to burst through.
1. Cut out a small sheet of blotting paper to fit inside the glass jar. Push it up against the sides of the jar, allowing the edges to overlap. It is best to use blotting paper as it is durable, even when wet.
2. Fill the centre of the jar with cotton wool balls and pour in some water, just a little, barely enough to create a little reservoir. Seeds need moisture and air for germination. Just be careful not to drown your broad bean!
3. Select a few healthy-looking broad beans and place them between the glass and the blotting paper, which will now be damp. Space them out evenly.
4. Put the lid on the jar, this will keep humidity high.
5. Put the jar in a place that you can observe development, ideally in a warm light spot.
6. After five or six days you will see a green shoot growing upwards and some roots growing downwards. The shoot will then go on to develop leaves. CL
Maura Sheehy is a flower farmer and florist who runs Maura’s Cottage Flowers near Tralee, Co Kerry. Maura specialises in growing and supplying natural and unique arrangements for weddings, funerals, special occasions and for local businesses, as well as running regular flower-arranging classes at her studio. She also has experience in school garden projects. For further information, call 087 061 2622 or visit www.maurascottageflowers.com.
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