At the community garden we greeted the new year with enthusiasm. In January and February our main task was to promote the importance of helping the birds during the cold winter period. With the community groups and the Family Eco Gardening club we have been busy creating mug bird feeders in January.
Everyone enjoyed upcycling old and chipped mugs to create much needed snack stations for our garden birds. We learnt about the importance of helping them to survive the cold without being able to find food naturally. Birdfeeders can provide essential nutrients and energy to stay warm.
We used mixed seeds, oats, dried fruits and insect pellets to create a mixture of yummy food for our feathered friends. It was fun to choose different patterned and themed mugs- the joy of having so many donations! We had designs from animal shaped mugs to botanical themed ones, as well as some really cool British wildlife ones.
Once we chose our cups, and mixed the different types of seeds, the real fun started- warming up the lard on our portable hob was so exciting for everyone! This had also given us a chance to have a chat about solids and liquids, temperature and consistency change and triglyceride molecules. Once we poured the hot lard(with supervision) to the mugs, and put some thread on the handles to hang them up, and used some cut willow sticks as a perch, we sprinkled some luxury treats on the top- dried mealworms are the favourites, and attract the birds to discover our treats for them.
Cando Care Cooperative and Growild Outreach community groups enjoyed the activity, and took their birdfeeders to their own gardens. We also had a few rounds of bird memory games, that turned a bit competitive (in a good way), but also very educational. It was great to have information about identifying birds and the difference between males and females, their size, colour, behaviour, calls and songs.
At the Family Eco Gardening Club the children were very excited to learn about birds too. They were so keen that we got the binoculars out, and did some birdwatching on Skew lake. We braved the freezing temperatures and visited the community garden to hang up some of the mug bird feeders. It was lovely to see one little boy placing his bird feeder on the very same tree he planted for the orchard in November!
The children were looking forward to creating bird nest boxes during our February gardening club. With the expert help of our volunteer, Trevor, we learnt to create nest boxes for blue tits. On a very cold and rainy Saturday morning we created the boxes in the Visitor Centre. The rain has stopped by the time we finished, so we walked down to the community garden and put up our boxes in the community orchard area. It will be lovely to see the birds using them later in the year! We also had a look at the mug birdfeeders and discovered that the birds started to peck on the lard and seed mix! It was fantastic to see that we did indeed help them to get through the cold days of January and February.
During our February sessions, we created some pretty Nature Valentine crafts with the community groups. We used cardboard, pinecones, sticks and moss from the reserve, dried lavender and pressed flowers from the community garden and evergreen clippings the groups foraged whilst preparing for the session. Growild Outreach group members created some lovely Valentine hearts and some even made Valentine`s day cards for their loved ones.
In March we will concentrate on sowing seeds and planting bulbs in the garden. We can`t wait for some sunshine and warmer weather, so we can spend longer periods of time in the garden. Check out the upcoming dates on our website for the Family Eco Gardening Club sessions by clicking here.
