We have just launched our series of Discovery Den Activity Packs! Each pack is aimed at ages 8 to 12 and follows one of three habitats – Woodland, Coastal or Freshwater. The packs are full of activities to help you discover these habitats and their wildlife. Whether you are a parent, teacher or group leader, there are lots of activities to get stuck into! In this blog, we’ll be taking a look at some of the activities from the Woodland Activity Pack.

Woodlands are truly amazing places! Scotland’s woodlands are home to 172 protected species including pine martens, black grouse, capercaillie and an impressive 75% of the UK’s red squirrel population.

But it’s not just wildlife that relies on woodlands. Research shows that we are happier and healthier when surrounded by nature. Simply spending time outdoors brings a host of benefits for our physical and mental health – so let’s head outside!

Below are some unbe-leaf-able activities you can get stuck into. There are plenty of great activities whether you are heading out to your local woodland or in your garden! There are event some to try inside if you can’t get outside!

1. Make a Muddy Masterpiece

Give the trees some faces and bring the woodland alive in a whole new way!

Gather some natural materials you find lying on the ground (e.g. sticks, leaves, pinecones). Dig a small hole and fill a bucket with the soil. If the soil is dry, slowly add water until the mud is sticky and malleable. You can test the mud on a nearby tree – if the mud sticks, it’s good to go!

Find the tree you’d like to decorate and start sticking your mud to the bark (a few handfuls should do). Use your natural materials to decorate your muddy face. This is a great chance for kids to get creative – hopefully some weird and wonderful muddy creatures will emerge!

Make sure to only use natural materials so that the woodland isn’t damaged by your art.

2. Make a nature rainbow

Nature is full of colour, from yellow daffodils and purple bluebells in spring to the red, yellow and orange leaves covering woodland floors in autumn. Try and find as many colours as you can outside to create a rainbow – it’s super simple but super fun!

You can download a rainbow template on our Discovery Den, or you can draw your own. All you need to do is cut out your paper rainbow, stick double-sided tape on one side and head outside. When you are ready to start, peel off the top cover of the sticky tape (remembering to pocket your rubbish) and stick colourful natural things you can find along the tape.

Remind kids to avoid picking living things and collect objects that have fallen on the ground. If picking something, only take a little bit from each plant – we need to leave lots for the wildlife!

3. Create some brilliant bird art

Let’s get creative and design a bird masterpiece by using natural objects you can find outside.

When out on your woodland walk, collect different natural objects lying along the ground (things like leaves, petals, and moss are perfect!). When you get home, use your finds to create a brilliant bird using the printable template from our Discovery Den.

Do you want your bird want to stand out with bright colours or camouflage in with its surroundings? You can use colouring pens or pencils to add extra colour, like in the design below!

4. Search for animal tracks and trails

When out in the woods, wildlife can sometimes be hard to spot, but there are often signs to look out for that show animals have been hanging around. Animal signs include footprints, burrows, leftover meals, fur, and droppings (i.e. poo!).

How many can you spot on your woodland walk? You might even find some treasure to bring back with you, whether a nibbled nut or a left behind feather!

Check out the tracks and trails guide from our Discovery Den that you can print off and take with you.

5. Enter the squirrel Olympics

Can you run, jump and squat like a squirrel? Let’s create a tree-mendous adventure course using natural materials from the woods!

Find a spot outdoors and let your imagination run wild to create an obstacle course. Have a look to see what natural objects you could use. You could zig zag through some trees, leap across a tree stump, relay race with sticks, or hop on shadows…

Once you have created your course, everyone can have a go. Maybe you could make it a competition and split up into teams!

6. Become woodland bird wizards

Every species has a scientific name that is made up of several words that often come from Ancient Greek or Latin. It just so happens that lots of scientific names sound a bit like magic spells! This activity combines bird identification with some fun wizard-like imagination.

Before heading on your woodland walk, print off a bird wizard spotter sheet from our Discovery Den to take with you.

Find a stick – this is going to be your magic wand. Wrap an elastic band round the top of your stick. Collect natural materials (things like feathers, leaves, flowers and moss are perfect!) and feed them into the band. Once everyone is happy with their wands (and they are successfully casting spells!) it is time to spot some birds.

If you spot a bird from the spotter sheet, point your wands towards the bird and chant the magic spell for that bird – this is their scientific name (every living species has their own). These can be found on the spotter sheet. Perhaps it casts a good luck charm for the bird!

Remember, the key to spotting birds is to be as stealthy and quiet as you can- you don’t want to scare them away! If using binoculars, remind children to stop walking before using them to avoid any falls.

 

Can’t get outside? Here are a couple of indoor activities you could try…

7. Make an aerial acro-BAT

Get crafty and make either a flying bat or a roosting bat. Head over to our Discovery Den to print off the activity sheet and follow the step-by-step instructions.

Woodlands can provide places for bats to eat, sleep, and travel – with trees acting as highways for them! Nine species of bat call Scotland home, each protected by law (including their feeding and roosting habitats). You can find out more about Scottish bats through our take a closer look at bats YouTube video.

8. Make a badger snout

One of Scotland’s most charismatic mammals, the badger is an unmistakable animal with their familiar black and white-striped face. This is a super easy and fun craft activity, turning a paper cup into your own badger snout!

Badgers are a famous resident at Falls of Clyde, with between 50-60 on the reserve. They are largely nocturnal so you may not see them out on a walk, but there are plenty of signs showing they have been about! The Visitor Centre staff run Badger Watch events throughout the summer – keep your eyes peeled on our events page to find out when you can join!

For this craft you’ll need a white paper cup, a sheet of black paper, a sheet of white paper, glue, scissors and some string. Head over to our Discovery Den to follow the step-by-step instructions so you end up with a badger like this one!

 

You can get stuck into more fun activities by visiting our Discovery Den where you can also download our new Woodland Activity Pack!

We would love to see you taking part in the activities. You can share your photos with us by using #DiscoverLearnPlay.

Don’t forget to sign up to our Educators’ mailing list to be first to hear about new resources as and when they go live!

 

– Rachel Faichnie, Engagement Officer