The Garden

In the Garden

Your garden is your local patch of nature. Even a small garden will contain a huge array of plants and creatures, and will be visited by birds and mammals whether you live in the countryside, a town or a city.

Look for life underneath logs and stones - young children will have fun just seeing what they can spot, older ones can approach it as an experiment.
A Minipond is easy to make and will attract all sorts of interesting creatures into your garden.
Your garden is the easiest place to watch birds - here are some ideas for involving children with them.
Adopt a tree - get to know a special tree and study it through the year.
Children love flowers, but what are they for and how do they work?
A magnifying glass can be used to study plants and creatures from the garden, and to focus children's attention.
Your garden is a good place for children to explore the weather.
The garden is the easiest place from which to watch the behaviour of the Sun and Moon.
Another thing you may see from your garden is a rainbow. These provide an opportunity for children's art and for some scientific understanding.
You can help children to appreciate the seasons by watching changes in the garden through the year.
Grow a tree from seeds, nuts or berries which children can collect themselves.
Take children into the garden at night to see the stars, and explain a little about what they are seeing.
To help children appreciate the importance of soil, you can help them to analyse the nature of the soil in your garden and to see what creatures live in it.
Start a Nature Journal - a place for children to draw and write about their encounters with Nature.