On the first day of the 365 Day Nature Play Challenge it was stormy, cold and rainy… so we play with sticks and make what I would call a den but B calls a stick igloo. Almost a hundred days later we revisit the tree and find the sticks still there, though not so den-shaped… and have another go.
365 – Day one: the Stick Igloo
Wednesday 1 January. Stormy! 11°C
Of course, the new year started with a storm! This was totally inevitable.
Me: So we’re starting the challenge today! But the weathers rubbish. It’s going to be windy in the morning and rainy in the afternoon… which do you want to go out in?
B: Rain.
Me: Seriously?
B: Definitely.
Fair enough. I suspect it was more that afternoon was more attractive than morning. So, after lunch we put on our coats and went outside into the storm which, as forecast, was by then less windy but very wet. Across the road from my mum’s flat is a bit of grass where a beautiful huge tree grows. It had recently been cut back and there was a large amount of thin long sticks around. Idea sorted. Felt right to start the year with a classic!
When B was little, she loved sticks. I remember her finding a giant five-foot bit of tree when she was about three and refusing to be separated from it till I proved to her it could not go in the car. Now she’s a bit more analytical.
Me: Look at this one. It’s so tall.
B: Yeah whatever.
Me: And look, someone’s thrown them in to the tree, we could do that?
B: No, I’m going to make a stick igloo.
I remember when my ideas were appreciated but heigh ho. Stick igloo it was. I was delegated to fetch sticks and B used her school acquired den making skills to make a small but sturdy den ‘igloo’. After half an hour I realised we are going to need to pay more attention to outdoor clothing. We had no gloves and her hands were freezing by the end. Also, her trainers got very muddy which she wasn’t happy about. She liked the dirty footsteps they made though.
Afterwards it occurs to me to google how to make dens and I find this fantastic blog by the Woodland Trust. We will definitely return to this idea in better weather! I’m impressed with B’s knowledge already. Her school nature trip a couple of years ago has obviously stayed with her. She was very confident on her structuring.
So how do I think the first day went? It was great actually. It took quite a bit of effort to get us out there but we definitely ended up doing something we wouldn’t have done without the challenge and we both really enjoyed it. We were still giggling about our muddy footprints the next day. I definitely need to keep an eye on what we’re wearing and how we’re equipped. We’re not used to doing these sort of things when it’s cold but it was fun and with a good pair of gloves we’d probably have stayed out a bit longer.
Playing with indoor rainbows (364) >
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273 – The Stick Igloo returns…
Thursday 3 April. Sunny. 19°C
It’s almost a hundred days since we started the 365 day nature play challenge and we find ourselves back, again, looking at the same sticks we used on January 1st. They’re still leaning against the tree though no longer in a den shape. We’re passing through London on the way to our Easter holiday and looking for a challenge to do, so B decides to make another den.
It’s a great chance to reflect on what we’ve learnt so far. I’d say the main thing is that we’re just a lot more comfortable mucking about outside and occasionally looking a bit ridiculous. The weather is a lot warmer today and it really helps.
We find there’s a hole in the trunk we can fit sticks into which help make a structure. We also have some wire with us and B ‘cheats’ and uses it to bind bits together. The sticks aren’t any bigger or longer than they were before so it remains a modest sized den but it definitely has a bit more space to it than last time.
My mum wonders if it’s okay to make a den next to a tree in a London street… I wonder if anyone else has made one since we have… and what it will look like next time we’re back.
272 – Leaving nesting materials out for the crows
Friday 4 April. Sunny. 21°C
The next morning we’re back again. We’re about to set off on our travels but we’ve come back to remove the wire from yesterday and have a new plan. We’ve been watching the crows nesting for the last few weeks, hopping about with giant twigs in their mouths. There’s been a bit one sitting in the tree all morning so we’ve decided to give it a hand.
We originally plan to dismantle the den but then think it’s better to use some of the rest of the sticks that are lying around still. B breaks them up into crow sized pieces, picking the thinner ones we think will be more flexible and more suitable for nesting. Then she goes on a hunt for more bits and finds some fabulous fluffy seed things (which we used for the 273 yesterday) and some fresh green leaves. She looks for a spot where the crow will find it easy to fly down and fly off again and makes a pile.
There’s quite a lot of twigs about so there’s no guarantees the crows are going to find it but we keep an eye out for the rest of the day, hoping to see one.
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