January 28th
Education goes on line
Since last March my role as Education Adviser at the reserve
has seen a lot of dramatic changes. In the first Lockdown as an education team
we spent a lot of time filming and putting together posts for social media and
our website to help support home learning. When some schooling was taking place
in the summer term, we introduced our suite of on -line lessons which included
virtual pond dipping. With some lessening of the restrictions, over the summer
holidays, we were able to offer family workshops at the reserve. These were
really successful and a pleasure to get involved in. It was a delight to engage
with local families again and share what we have at the reserve with a new
generation of naturalists and they came back again in the autumn half term
holiday. Altogether we managed to welcome 459 people, from parents &
grandparents, to teenagers & toddlers, taking part in a range of
activities. In the summer we introduced people to the nature trail, pond
dipping, flowers, minibeasts and butterflies. In autumn, families experienced
the magnificent autumnal colours and textures of the nature trail, did some
birdwatching and pond dipping, hunted for minibeasts and investigated owl
pellets. We all had a lot of fun and a lot of learning took place, for young
and old.
But still no school visits were taking place. Schools were
struggling to keep open and catch up with missed learning, all outside visits
were cancelled.
When the next set of restrictions were put in place after
Christmas, the team were ready to deliver straight into schools’ on-line,
virtual offer, presenting information via digital platforms. Whether it was
about Yorkshire Water’s treatment processes, careers in the company or problems
the business has with plastics the team is set up to deliver on-line lessons. Please
visit our website to find out more or to book a session www.yorkshirewater.co.uk/education.
This has included some fun activities in a new after school club for employees
and their children.
As an outdoor teacher, I have inspired and enthused children to get outside and watch garden birds in readiness for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of January for many years. This year, I find myself doing the same but over a Teams meeting with photos of birds pinned to the wall behind me. Strange times, but as teachers we adapt and where I would have taken children outside to watch birds hop, fly, peck and sing in a park, garden or on the reserve, this week I have done it virtually. Instead my audience did all the actions in their front rooms, they looked at the photos and took part in a quiz, we demonstrated how to make bird feeders and we pretended that the photo of a busy bird table was real and we counted and recorded the birds. Not quite the same, but I’ve heard that some keen boys are already making fatballs and a Dad has been given the perfect excuse to buy some binoculars as his daughter is desperate to get involved. Job done.
So, with some new recruits to this fantastic citizen science
project taking part this weekend and without the chance to record the birds at
the feeders on the reserve, we all need to sit back and once again enjoy the
delights of our garden birds. The highlight in my garden these past few months
has been an increase in the numbers of greenfinches visiting. Not so long ago
they suffered from a population crash as many perished due to an infection
called trichomonosis, transmitted from unclean bird feeders, so it’s great to
see them back. Another notable sighting has been an increase in the number of
blue tits, I’m not sure of the reason but it’s a delight to see these acrobatic
tits balancing on the fatballs.
There’s no better way to spend an hour than to record your
garden birds and contribute to the stacks of data that has been collected for
the past 42 years. I would encourage everyone to go to www.rspb.org.uk to take part.
