Outdoor & Woodland Learning Scotland Bulletin

September 2017 Welcome to the OWL Scotland bulletin which contains content from the Outdoor Learning Wales bulletin– Thank you to OLW for letting us share their bulletin! You can find more information on Outdoor Learning Wales here. If you have items for inclusion in the bulletin please send them to Bonnie.Maggio@forestry.gsi.gov.uk OWL Scotland Update: OWL Scotland Networking Event 2018 The National Networking Event dates are confirmed for Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th February which will be held at Kindrogan Field Studies Center in Perthshire. There will be the usual mix of exciting workshops, networking opportunities and fun. Booking will open at the end of November – Book Early to avoid disappointment! To check out what happened at last year’s event you can see the report here. OWL Scotland Temporary Tattoos Thanks to the Glasgow Group (GROWL) for the suggestion of temporary OWL Scotland tattoos for events. We have also produced outdoor use stickers for groups to label their kit. These are available to OWL groups from Bonnie.Maggio@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Local OWL Events and News: Borders OWL GROUP The Scottish Borders OWLS Group are keen to hear from other interested folk in the area. They are planning some exciting events over the next year and would like as many as possible to benefit. Please contact Jan Barr, jan@natureunlimited.scot if you would like to be added to their mailing list.

Greater Glasgow OWL Group (GROWL) Can you help? GROWL (Glasgow Region OWL) are keen to hear from other OWL groups about how your group got going and if you’ve any best practice tips you’d like to share.

Can you help us define a Development Officer role and outline what we might expect from the right candidate? Do you have any advice on storage solutions for kit and suggestions of where best to locate it? Would you be interested in running a workshop for us at a future event in the Glasgow area? We’d love to hear from you whatever you can offer so please get in touch with your ideas and share your experiences! You’ll find us at: hello@glasgowowl.com and https://www.facebook.com/OWLScotland/ First Aid If your first aid skills are getting a little rusty or your certificate is about to expire we’ve got just the course for you. GROWL is planning a First Aid course in affiliation with BASP for later this year. Keep a look out for more information coming soon. West Fife OWL Group Held their drop-in market place style Networking Event on Thursday 7th September in Pittencrieff Park. They welcomed over 60 teachers and practitioners from Fife to learn about all the local groups working to support outdoor learning.

South Highland OWL Group

Networking Event

Saturday 30th September found the grounds of the UHI Scottish School of Forestry awash with enthusiastic teachers and practitioners from the Highlands coming from as far as Skye and Caithness to join in the South Highland OWL Group Networking Event. The theme was ‘Health and Wellbeing’ and the day was kicked off by an inspiring talk from Linda Thom , Development Officer for Promoting Positive Relationships for Highland Council. The workshops included Active Play, Qi Jong in the Woods, Healthy Outdoor Cooking, and Art as Therapy. The sun was still shining when the day was brought to a close with a Woodland Workout choreographed by Suzanne Barr from Abriachan Forest Trust.

Follow our FACEBOOK page on: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SouthHighlandOWL/

Dumfries and Galloway OWL Group - Event

Saturday 7th October – Venue to be confirmed – This will include a skillshare on Fungi and the Night Sky

Dumfries and Galloway Outdoor and Woodland Learning Group check us out on Facebook @OWLDG and Twitter @DGOWLGP North East OWL Group

The North East OWL Group held a fantastic Networking Event on 16th September at Camphill School, Murtle Estate in Aberdeen. Workshops included Hammocks and High Wires, Embracing Autumn and Foraging for Art Work. There was an excellent turnout with around 30 teachers and practitioners participating.

Other news from the NE OWL Group – They have a new shed for their kit – this is located on the Myrtle Estate in the grounds of the Camphill School and will enable the group to keep all their kit in one spot.

New Resources: We have recently published 2 new guidance resources further to requests from the OWL groups: Tool Use Guidance for OWL Groups and Fire Guidance for OWL Groups. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the content of the resources. We hope you like them! They are currently available for download only. Coming Soon… a new Guidance Note on Health and Hygiene for Outdoor Cooking. Working Forests’ Campaign Forestry Commission Scotland has released a new forest safety interactive story aimed at children. It supports the ‘working forests’ campaign. http://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/news-releases/1614-interactive-adventure-teaches-forest-safety We have produced a Resources Summary flyer for download which sets out all of our resources, ages and stages and how to get copies. Beyond the Boundary

Have you discovered the learning potential in your local greenspace?

Your pupils have an entitlement to Learning for Sustainability, which includes outdoor learning and daily contact with nature. Learning in green or natural spaces can lead to greater engagement and challenge and enjoyment. Outdoor learning can help raise attainment and have positive impacts on physical and mental health. Beyond your Boundary: easy steps to learning in local greenspace will help you to find, access and use your local greenspace for learning. It also offers support to help you improve your greenspace and spread and embed learning in local greenspace in your establishment. It is for educators in all schools, of any subject, working with pupils of all stages. Be it an unloved grassy area, a woodland owned by a neighbour, a large local authority park, or anything in between, taking learning in to local greenspace can open up almost endless possibilities!

- "I can't believe we have existed so closely to this place and never made use of it… I felt that the curricular areas were endless.” P1 teacher, North Lanarkshire

- “After the first visit my brain was buzzing with ideas… I think this will have a very

memorable impact on the class.” S3 teacher, Fife

- "I didn’t know how close I live to nature.” S5 pupil, Clydebank The resource has been designed to be viewed onscreen, reducing printing costs for schools and offering clickable links to other sources of support. The resource will evolve; incorporating the experiences of schools that are learning in local greenspace, including those taking part in the Learning in local greenspace project part of Scotland’s Biodiversity: a Route Map to 2020. #beyondyourboundary Outdoor Access Practical Guide for Teachers In response to teachers saying how hard they found it to find the relevant information on the SOAC website about their rights and responsibilities when taking groups outdoors, an 'Outdoor Learning' tab has been added to the website. www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/Practical-guide/public/outdoor-learning SNH Biodiversity Images SNH have produced and watermarked these in support of this month’s focus on biodiversity. They are available for anyone who wishes to use them. Do share as you see fit or use them yourself for any education work you might be delivering. https://www.flickr.com/photos/snh-iyb2010/albums/72157687981528125

Free Botanical Illustrations

EUFORGEN has published a collection of 149 botanical illustrations relevant to European trees. Anyone is free to use the drawings non-commercially, as long as they give credit and do not restrict further use.

Read More

Global Seed Search – online Database

A new publication from Botanic Gardens Conservation International has the answer: 60,065. An online database (Global Seed Search) gives access to all the information, and will be updated with EUFORGEN reports.

Read More

Recipe of the month Doughnuts Recipe Ingredients: 375 gms flour 180 ml milk 200 gms sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tbsp. cooking oil 2 tsp cream of tartar 1/2 tsp powdered ginger 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 bottle vegetable oil 100gm icing sugar Mix all ingredients, except bottle of oil and powdered sugar, into a smooth dough. Roll (or press with hands) to 1/2 inch thick. Use an empty tin can to cut out the doughnut. Use a water bottle lid to cut out the doughnut hole. Heat about 2 inches deep of vegetable oil to 375-400 degrees in a Dutch oven or high sided cast iron pan. Carefully drop doughnuts and holes into hot oil. They will sink and then float back up as they cook. Fry until golden brown, flipping once. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar. www.boyscouttrail.com Quote of the month “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi Activity of the Month Centipede Team Building Game Form a line and then get onto hands and knees. Each player needs to hold the ankles of the person in front of them. Working together, now try and crawl. Find ways of working together to make movement smoother and quicker i.e. by moving the right side of their bodies and then the left side of their bodies together and at the same time. They might want to elect the person at the head of the centipede to shout ‘left, right, left, right’ as if it were a march. For a more challenging activity set up small obstacles along the way to move around or crawl over.

Fact of the Month Did you know hippopotamuses are born under water?

Species of the Month Chough / Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax With its black plumage the Cough looks similar to the crow, but is distinguished by its unmistakable red legs and feet and curved red bill. The bird uses its curved bill to dig into the turf to find insects and larvae just under the surface. Choughs are up to 38 centimetres in length, which makes them larger than jackdaws but smaller than crows or rooks. The plumage, which is similar in males and females, is glossy blue-back, with a greenish sheen on the wings and tail. The wings are broad, and in flight they are curved upwards with the ends outspread, which gives them a somewhat ragged

look. The flight is strong and acrobatic, including soaring and gliding, and sometimes diving with the wings almost closed. On the ground, choughs will run, walk or hop. The ringing “chee-ow” call is clearer and louder than the similar vocalisation of the jackdaw. It is mainly restricted to the west of the British Isles and can be found on rocky coasts with short grassland such as at South Stack, Anglesey and in mountainous areas. Despite the chough’s liking of coastal habitats it is not a sea bird, and fish is not part of its diet. However, they may sometimes be seen on the upper parts of beaches, turning over old seaweed to search for insects. Choughs are monogamous, with pairs tending to stay together both in and out of the breeding season, even as part of larger colonies. There are approximately 250-350 pairs

in Great Britain. Nests are built in late April or May, in the rocky crevices of cliffs, caves or quarries, or on old stone buildings such as castle ruins or church steeples. Nests comprise twigs, roots, and softer lining material such as wool and hair. The same nest may be used another year, but with a fresh lining.

The clutch is usually three to six eggs, laid at intervals of between one and three days, which are incubated solely by the female bird for up to 21 days. At first only the male chough brings food to the nest, but later both parents do so. The food is insects and larvae, regurgitated by the parent bird. Only one brood is raised each season. The young fledge at around 35 days, returning to the nest to roost at night for as much as two months after fledging. After this they tend to form flocks with other young birds and may roam with the flock several miles from their birthplace. The chough is a protected species in the United Kingdom. The main threat to choughs today is farming methods that have removed many of the chough’s preferred feeding areas. www.rspb.org.uk www.second-opinion-doc.com Plant of the Month Hornbeam / Carpinus betulus Hornbeam is a deciduous broadleaf tree and one of the native trees that colonised Britain naturally after the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. Hornbeam is a fairly large tree with a rounded shape and branches that fork upwards. Hornbeams are often to be found on clay soils, growing to a height of 20M. It belongs to the birch, hazel and alder family. The leaf of the hornbeam is oval and pointed, and a simple leaf. The leaf is quite long (7 – 12 cm) but has a relatively short leaf stalk or petiole. The leaf edge is serrated. In the spring, the young stems and leaves may have a reddish tinge to them. In the autumn, the leaves turn yellow / orange and may persist on the tree for some time

The bark is silvery grey, and may have vertical, ‘wriggly’ markings that vary in colour from silver to orange. At intervals, the bark may bear occasional wide but shallow fissures, which as the trunk ages may develop criss-crossing ridges. The name hornbeam comes from the hardness of its timber - 'horn' means 'hard' and 'beam' was the name for a tree in old English. Its timber is very dense and hard and was used for spokes, mallets and gears in windmills and it makes good firewood. In the past, they were often managed / coppiced for charcoal production. www.woodlandtrust.org.uk www.welshtrees.co.uk www.woodlands.co.uk

Collective noun of the month A bask or float of crocodiles

Funding

Grounds for Learning

The new small grants scheme is open http://www.ltl.org.uk/naturegrants/index.php

Community Fund

The FCS Community Fund supports community groups and organisations that encourage people to use woods more. The guidance document can be found here.

Training

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK FOR 2017!

Fully funded professional learning course for teachers in Scotland. Connecting Classrooms: Learning for Sustainability

Connecting Classrooms is a series of courses offering a new professional learning opportunity for primary & secondary teachers in Scotland. Lead by the University of Edinburgh and Learning for Sustainability Scotland in partnership with the British Council, it is a timely opportunity for teachers to learn about what Learning for Sustainability (LfS) is and learn about new and existing core skills, values and knowledge around the subject in order to teach it in a school context.

This programme offers teachers the opportunity to engage and collaborate over an eight week period which include a day-long participative face to face session at the beginning and at the end of the period, supported by fortnightly inputs from online materials. Teachers who successfully complete the programme will be eligible to apply for British Council Professional partnerships grants of £3000 towards overseas study visits to partner schools in other countries. Learning can be used to strengthen international links at your school, enriching teaching and learning through partnerships and joint projects. The professional learning is fully funded for all local authority teachers in Scotland.

Where & When 2017

Saturday 11 November 2017 9.30 am to 3.30 pm at Glasgow Caledonian University For more information please click here. To book a place, click on the button below to be taken to the booking page.

NEW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES WITH STRAMASH FOR 2017/18 Building on past experience, Stramash are delighted to launch their first programme of set training courses for staff working in the early years, primary school and childcare sectors. Come and join them for some Messy Maths, Self-Directed Play and Literacy Outdoors! For further details, go to www.stramash.org.uk In the Wild Sparks Woods Literacy & Sensory Play Friday 3rd November 2017: Camperdown Park, Dundee, DD2 4TF Course Leader: Sarah Hutcheon Risky Play Tuesday 24th October: Toryglen, Glasgow, G42 0LA Course Leader: Steven White BOOKINGS Click here to make a booking for any of the above workshops We will be in touch to confirm your booking and send further information shortly! Contact office@wildsparks.co.uk with any further enquiries. Themes Announced – International Day of Forests – 21st March The Themes for the International Day of Forests are: 2018 - "Forests and Sustainable Cities” 2019 - “Forests andEducation”.

Contact: To contact your local OWL group please go to the OWL Scotland website

Or contact us: Bonnie Maggio OWL Scotland Forestry Commission Scotland 231 Corstorphine Road Edinburgh EH12 7AT Bonnie.Maggio@forestry.gsi.gov.uk Join us on Facebook – “Forest Education Initiative” group (we have over 5000 members so were unable to change from our original name!) Disclaimer: OWL Scotland are not responsible for the content, standard or reliability of the linked websites, courses or resources from this bulletin from external sources. Listing should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. We cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and we have no control over the availability of linked pages.