Cheeky Squirrel

For a while now we have been wondering where the peanuts have been going. Now we have the proof. This cheeky grey squirrel has been plundering the bird feeder and the bins(!) for their contents. I’m glad to say that it has not put off the birds who are now regulars of the bird feeders.

Cloud Burst!

The pond 20 minutes after heavy rain, fuller than usual but coping easily

Today we have had the most amazing heavy rain and it was a really good chance to see how the Sustainable Urban drainage System coped with the downpour. Although I did not venture out during the rain the whole of 6U came with me to have a look 20 minutes later. We found that the swales (ditches) coped easily and that the pond simply swallowed up the extra water and helped clear some of the algae that has been forming in the pond out of the way. Though the algae is now partly blocking the outfall and we will need to keep an eye on this. It was impressive though to see just how much water can be absorbed by this system when all the traditional drains were struggling.

Bug Boxes

After placing bird and bat boxes around the grounds we have now put a range of individually designed and built bug boxes around the grounds and allotment. Many thanks to all the pupils who have either built or helped place these boxes we look forward to seing all the insects that will make them their home.

Eco Club

After all the exciting new projects of the past three (and more) years we are now settling into the routine of looking after the projects. We spent last Eco Club catching up on those little jobs like filling the bird feeders and checking the wildflower meadow. Next week we will be weeding the tree nursery. While none of these jobs are exciting they are all needed to keep the projects going and bring with them their own satisfaction of a job well done. Well thats what we keep telling each other! We will be having an Eco action Team meeting soon where we will think up some more exciting projects…

How not to grow a cabbage!

Its been a bad (or is that good?) year for catepillars in the allotment this year, we came across this sad example in gardening club the other day. I think we will be netting our cabbages next year!