4th June 2019 Palm oil and the detrimental effects palm oil plantations are having on forests around the world including Indonesia, Malaysia, South America and Africa, but most importantly; how these plantations are impacting climate change, along with the animals that live in those forests, is quite a hefty subject and one that’s very complicated. […]
Bees were a big deal in Mad Hatters Nursery the week commencing 20th May, World Bee Day. The children had been making finger puppets, honeycomb biscuits and planting bee friendly herbs and flowers in the garden before I’d arrived that week. They’d also taken part in a children’s bee and bug yoga class, so naturally […]
On 16th May the children and I began growing fungi. I know; it sounds a bit ‘out there’ but, fungi are one of the earth’s unsung heroes and can help solve many of the world’s problems, so together with Mad Hatters Nursery and courtesy of the www.growwilduk.com at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the little ones […]
The revered naturalist and pioneer in conservation, Sir David Attenborough, has inspired millions by bringing nature into our homes with his desire to explore and enlighten us on the beauty of the natural world. To celebrate his 93rd Birthday on Wednesday 8th May, as well as marking Plastic Free Day in schools, my Wednesday workshop […]
To celebrate World Penguin Day today, 25th April 2019, in our workshop this morning the children and I went on an imaginary trip to the Galapagos islands to learn about the only type of penguin that lives naturally in the northern hemisphere, the Galapagos Penguin. These cold-loving black and white birds living by the Equator […]
28th March 2019 As the beginning of spring is a great time of year to sow seeds, the little ones and I did just that in the nursery garden last week. GrowWilduk.com had kindly sent us some Wildflower seeds for no charge as these beautiful flowers play such an important role in the UK ecosystem, […]
Australia had 75,000 speckled flying-foxes – or fruit bats as they’re also called – before the most recent heat wave in November 2018, where temperatures surpassed 42C in Cairns, wiping out one-third of the population. As the biggest bats in the world with a wing span of up to 1.7m, these sweet and intriguing looking […]
I’m thrilled to share that last Thursday on 14th March we collected a very special trophy for winning Mad Hatters Nursery their first ever Award! This was from Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots education programme for young people. Roots & Shoots encourages children to implement practical positive change for people, animals and the environment by […]
7th March 2019 Stumbling across a story last month about how some chimpanzees in Belfast zoo managed to escape by using a tree branch as a ladder, reminded me of just how intelligent these beautiful primates are, and how – as discovered by Jane Goodall in Gombe, Tanzania in the 1960’s, they’re so clever they […]
27th February 2019 It was International Polar Bear Day last Wednesday, 27th February, so my workshop focussed on the Arctic. Polar bears and walruses took centre stage, with reindeers chilling in the wings (excuse the pun) as they’re of least concern with the International Union for Conservation of Nature at the moment. This, however, may […]
