Transcript summer - The Great Plant Hunt

Things you might find on
your biodiversity thinking
walk.
Find a rainbow of plant colours
This could be in one tree
A collection of plant material, or a collage of photos!
Find a rainbow of plant colours
• In spring, you should find plenty of colourful flowers, you could
collect photos of these, or fallen petals for your rainbow.
• In the summer months you should also be able to find plenty of
colour in the flowers, but also colours in early fruits.
• In the Autumn months, leaves turn all the colours of the rainbow, but
there are also plenty of fruits and berries. You can find rich reds in
the hawthorn berries, golden yellows in field maple or beech trees
and everything from green to black in blackberries.
• In the winter you might have to be a bit more creative, but you will
still find many colours in barks, evergreen trees, and even dead
plants you will still be able to find a few coloured berries, such as
holly. Snow drops and lesser celandine will be in flower in January,
with coltsfoot, bluebells and garlic mustard flowering from February
and March.
Find animals on plants
Find animals on plants
• In the spring you might find caterpillars, birds, bumblebees,
ladybirds. The best place to look would be on flowers and
leaves on any plants you find on your walk.
• In the summer you should be able to see plenty of bees,
wasps, flies, birds, beetles and from April/May you should find
butterflies. The best place to look would be on flowers and
leaves on any plants you find on your walk.
• In autumn there will still be a few insects around, and plenty
of birds perched on trees. If you can find any ripe fruits, like
blackberries and hawthorn, this would be a great place to look
for insects and birds.
• In the winter you will be able to see birds on trees and
shrubs.
Find plants that have been used as food (nibbled!)
Find plants that have been used as food (nibbled!)
• In the spring you might find that some of the new shoots,
fresh leaves etc have been nibbled by caterpillars.
• In the summer you should find plenty of leaves, fruit and even
some flowers that have been nibbled.
• In autumn you should find fruit all around you! Look for
berries and leaves with little holes
• In the winter you might find empty shells of acorns or conkers
that could have been eaten by squirrels or mice.
Find creatures with 6 legs
Find creatures with 6 legs
• In spring you will be able to find bees, ladybirds, flies and
maybe ants.
• In the summer there will be ants in grassy areas and maybe
even in your play ground. Butterflies have 6 legs, these are
most commonly found near flowers in the summer. You should
also be able to see bees, ladybirds and flies all through the
summer months
• In autumn there should still be many of the summer bugs
around.
• In the winter creatures with 6 legs are a little more difficult to
find, but try looking under a few stones
Find creatures with wings
Find creatures with wings
• In the spring birds will be singing all around! Find them in the sky, in
trees or eating crumbs off the floor. Many insects have wings too see if you can find any flies, bees, ladybirds or beetles.
• In the summer the birds will still be around, find them in the sky, in
trees or eating crumbs off the floor. Keep looking for insects with
wings, in the summer there will be butterflies around with big
colourful wings!
• In autumn you will still be able to find birds, and many of the winged
bugs from summer.
• In the winter you should still be able to see and hear birds around. If
you can’t see any in the sky, look at bushes and trees, or for pigeons
eating crumbs off the floor!
Find evidence that animals have been here
This could be a birds nest (but
remember not to disturb any!)
A cobweb
A feather
Find evidence that animals have been here
• In the spring you might find leaves that have been nibbled,
cobwebs spun by spiders, feathers dropped by birds or even bird
poo!
• In the summer you might find leaves that have been nibbled,
cobwebs spun by spiders, feathers dropped by birds or even bird
poo!
• In autumn. There are plenty of leaves and fruit around that might
have been nibbled. You might also find feathers from birds – or even
bird poo! Empty shells of acorns or conkers that could have been
eaten by squirrels or mice. You could try to find empty snail shells, or
animal prints in the ground.
• In the winter. From January you might start to find frogspawn if you
have a school pond- this is frogs eggs. You might also find feathers
from birds – or even bird poo! Empty shells of acorns or conkers that
could have been eaten by squirrels or mice. You could try to find
empty snail shells, or animal prints in the ground.
Find plants in peculiar places
Between cracks in the
pavement
On top of a building!
In a drainpipe
On a wall
Find plants in peculiar places
• Try looking between paving slabs, in drain pipes, at the edges
of your playground and even look up to the roof- sometimes
they can be seen all the way up there!
Find different shaped leaves
Find different shaped leaves
• In the spring leaves will be bursting from trees, from
straight out the soil, and almost wherever you look!
• In the summer leaves will be everywhere from trees, to
shrubs and small herbs in the corner of the playground
• In autumn, leaves not only come in amazing shapes but
also amazing colours – what variety!
• In the winter many plants lose their leaves, but you
remember the evergreens, you should still find holly, ivy,
needle like leaves from conifers and there’s always
grass!
Happy biodiversity hunting!