Access to wildlife should be a right, not a privilege

Read a brilliant article in the Guardian from a link spotted on Facebook. "Access to wildlife should be a right, not a privilege " by Tony King

Evidence is growing that access to a wildlife-rich environment is essential for children's health and wellbeing

There is a growing and compelling body of evidence that regular and ready access to a wildlife-rich environment is essential for children's health and wellbeing. Recognising – and acting on – a right to that wildlife-rich world is essential for delivering better health, better educational attainment and better social development. Research published in The Lancet shows that, even after other factors are accounted for, living in a green environment makes people healthier.

Governments can and should articulate a new right: that every child and young person has the right to grow up and live in a high-quality, wildlife-rich environment with ready access to the physical and mental health benefits, developmental advantages and play opportunities it affords.

read the full article  here

Which is why I do, what I do to help people enjoy and appreciate the natural world around us - playing in woods is good for us!

Fun filled Friday

I am off to a pre school messy play and environmental themed games session this morning which should be really good fun!

Later on this afternoon

Play session went well, it was for a pre school and toddler group near to me. So we played a run around game, sang a couple of action songs about birds, the children ( and adults!) made dens built with fabric (and imagination) we did some bark rubbing and a lot of painting on BIG sheets of paper( wow some of the smalls were really getting into imagining the "woodland" I had said the room had become...)

and then I told them the story of The Gruffalo (one of my all time favourite stories!) doing different voices AND with some soft toy re-enactment...you should have seen the little faces when I produced from behind my back a large Gruffalo soft toy, at the appropriate bit of the story....They all wanted to cuddle it as well..

I don't blame them as he is a rather lovely soft toy!

I love my work :-)

BUT I am now tired and looking forward to a rest, I have had no dizzy spells since Wednesday so I am hoping it has gone now, whatever it was. My foot is fine now as well, so this weekend I shall do no business work but instead plant seeds :-))

Been out all day, Went to Compostgirl's school for her class assembly, all about Planets, it was very very good and then we had coffee after and a look at their work...

then I went to spend rest of morning walking around Bromyard in company of amazing local history expert, doing another Trail ( similar to the one I was doing in Ledbury last week)

I took some photos and have written some clues, but need to get on with the rest of it and hand it over and get paid!
Then I went back home for a quick lunch and off out to a paper casting and paper fabric making session at Eco Club. The childen had a huge amount of fun doing this as it is not something they have done before. We talked about where paper comes from, it's history and how and why we recycle it.

I got back home about 6.30!

I then ate a meal, and read a book and watched "Only Connect" which we had recorded from the other day, both of us love this quiz and last night I got all the answers correct...perhaps I should go on the show? :-)

I have a busy day tomorrow, doing yet more training...should be much fun!

A very busy half term holiday

As well as having fun with Compostgirl, I spent the half term holiday week leading up to Samhain/Halloween working with groups of children on various seasonal craft activities...mainly involving pumpkins ( now there's a surprise!)







All told I have been involved, one way or another, with the carving of 54 pumpkins, over the last 5 days in October.....



On one of my days off working we went round to see our very good friend M and her 2 lovely children for the day, we had lunch, the children played, M and I chatted and we carved ( you guessed it!) pumpkins!



Here is Compostgirl carving pumpkins with her friends.



The craft sessions I ran also involved lots of glue and glitter and orange paint





And lots of bats and spiders, of course!

I DO like my work :-) (even though it took a very long time to wash out all the glue and glitter in my hair.....)

but I think I will give pumpkin a miss for a few days...... :-))

Visit to the Scrapstore and some things I have made....

I had a trip to the Scrapstore in Worcester last Friday. I am running various recycled material based craft workshops over the next few months, so I needed to stock up on supplies. I went with my friend S, who I run Eco Club with, and we had a very successful time over there!

The Worcestershire Resource Exchange ( aka Scrapstore) is very well run, clean, tidy, well thought out and with loads of really good items for the bargin price of a trolley load for £10 ish, if you are a member. membership is worth while if you go more than once or twice a year!





I got lots of material ribbon and also lots of plastic ribbon







I turn the ribbon into recycled material wreaths or weavings like this



I also use paper packaging strips as weaving materials in my workshops with children, here is something made from paper packaging, which looks rather nice I think?





I also got an amazing whiteboard/A1 flipchart board for only £5!! They retail at about £100!

I am running some Bat and Spider based workshops over the half term break in October, which is the week before Halloween/Samhain, so I have come up with some simple craft ideas for the children to make, on the theme of bats and pumpkins and spiders and suchlike...We shall be playing some games and talking about bats and spiders and why they are so important and such a Jolly Good Thing.











Compostgirl is helping me test out the various designs to make sure they are "do-able" for her age group...

I hope the participants have as much fun making these items as I have done :-)

CIWM Recycling Champion Award

Oh I am so excited! Once again I am up for this award! I am so pleased, for me, my family and for all the people and the children I work with :-)

From the organisers, The CIWM,

We are delighted to inform you that once again you have been short listed for this award and will be put forward as a finalist to our judging panel, who will be choosing the category winners and also the winner of the overall Award for Environmental Excellence. All the winners will be announced at the ceremony which takes place at the Dorchester Hotel in November.

Hope this time I have better luck actually getting to the event, though....