Finding animal prints in the earth alongside the brook at Watermead Day Nursery in Loughborough, Leicestershire, led to children wondering what animals may be exploring their nursery grounds when they are not there. Their fascination inspired the nursery to invest in a wildlife camera so that they could record nocturnal happenings.
INITIAL EXPLORATIONS
‘We have Forest School sessions on site at nursery and the children also go to the local woods,’ says nursery manager Kyla Fory. ‘The children are very inquisitive when they are surrounded by wildlife and are good at noticing lots of things around them, such as the animal footprints which we took a cast of using plaster of Paris to see if we could match them up to an animal.’
Examining the footprints led to children wondering why animals don’t wear shoes while they are exploring around the woods. They discussed how animals don’t need clothing and why we wear clothes to keep ourselves warm and dry. ‘The children decided to take their shoes off to experience barefoot walking in the woods as well,’ says Kyla. ‘So they squelched in the mud with their bare feet and talked about how it felt.’
While children were interested in what animals they could see, before finding the footprints they had not considered that there may be different animals around during the night while they were asleep. Staff introduced the children to the word ‘nocturnal’ and that nocturnal animals are those that are active during the night and sleep during the day. The opposite – animals that are active during the day and asleep at night – are known as ‘diurnal’.
They considered what it would be like to explore in the dark and spoke about how nocturnal animals tend to have good listening skills and sense of smell because they can’t see as clearly. Children also discussed why animals may be out at night, such as to hunt for food.
WILDLIFE DETECTIVES
Owls, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs and bats are all examples of British nocturnal wildlife and the children pondered which ones may be found in their nursery grounds and how they could find out.
They enjoy watching clips from wildlife documentaries, especially those by David Attenborough, and had also previously filmed things of interest that they had seen while exploring outdoors on iPads, such as birds or tracks through the woods. ‘We introduced the idea of purchasing a wildlife camera with some money the nursery children had recently raised,’ says Kyla. ‘They liked the idea of being able to choose where we located the camera in the nursery grounds and then leaving it to record for two weeks before going back and looking to see if it had captured anything.’
The children were fascinated by the camera. Staff realised that, although they were used to taking photos on iPads and family members using the camera on their phones, actual cameras were quite new to them.
‘We’ve now also got a digital camera that the children use to take pictures in the woods of things that they find,’ says Kyla. ‘They can then look back at the image of what they’ve captured.’
Looking at the footage that has been taken on the wildlife camera causes excitement in the nursery, and everyone has been amazed by how much they have filmed, including a badger, muntjac deer and field mice. ‘We may have also caught a kingfisher on the camera,’ adds Kyla. ‘The wingspan and position looks very much like one but it’s hard to tell.’
Children were surprised that the footage from the wildlife camera was not in colour and asked questions leading to discussions around light and dark. ‘We explained that it is a very special camera and it has night vision to enable it to capture images of the animals that are only out at nighttime and go away in the day when we’re awake,’ she says.
Nursery consultant Gill Heyhoe says, ‘We decided that the wildlife camera was a good way of sharing some of the work that we’re doing in the nursery with parents to try and engage them further. So we set up an online platform to communicate with parents – Watermead Wildlife Watch – which has been successful.’
Staff upload videos filmed by the camera which they watch with their children and discuss what they see. ‘At times we are not sure what animal we’ve captured, such as once we eventually found out it was a fox but it was hard to identify because its tail had been damaged,’ says Kyla. ‘We put these videos out to the parents and ask them what they think it could be? They enjoy sharing their ideas and children’s.’
NATURE WATCH
To further the children’s growing interest in wildlife, staff have set up a nature-watching area in the Forest School garden – a hut covered by a camouflage net. Inside there are binoculars, wildlife reference books, animal identification pictures on the walls and clipboards. Children enjoy seeing a bird and then trying to find out its species, including using an app to take photographs of bird feathers in order to identify them.
But sightings are not reserved for the hut or wildlife camera – some children experienced seeing a roe deer while they were quietly eating their lunch in the woods – and children also find the occasional dead animal. ‘Recently we found a dead bird in the garden and the children decided to bury it. They were asking questions and discussing why it may have died,’ says Kyla. ‘We think it is good to talk about life and death in a relaxed way, and investigating wildlife allows us to do that.’
Around four months after burying the bird, the decision was made to dig it up to see what it looked like. ‘Children are very inquisitive. They learn a lot about growth – we have an edible garden which they help to look after so that they can see that the seed goes in the ground and then it grows before dying back off, which helps them to understand the process of growth and decay. We felt that looking at the bird’s bones would further this understanding of decomposition.’
Talking about dead animals has led the children to think more about how they can protect wildlife. During the very hot summer they made water stations for dehydrated bees. They have also organised litter picking to ensure animals are not at risk of being injured by rubbish.
‘We want to give children a sense of agency, where they fit in the scheme of things and the impact that they can have on the environment,’ says Gill. ‘The richness of all the opportunities that we provide sparks children’s curiosity in the natural world and introduces them to the importance of caring for the environment which very much appeals to parents as well.
‘We want children to take their learning home and engage with parents so their learning continues. We hope we are inspiring a desire in children to learn and discover more by igniting their desire to ask questions and be inquisitive.’
Book corner
Let’s Go For A Walkby Ranger Hamza and Kate Kronreif
This bright and accessible book shares the thrill of spotting natural things and noticing what they look, feel or sound like.
Yucky Worms by Vivian French and Jessica Ahlberg
Worms, they’re yucky, aren’t they? Not according to this book, which reveals just how amazing the wriggly creatures really are.
The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
A joyful celebration of nature, its wonders and the associated words that are in danger of being lost.
The Extraordinary Gardener by Sam Boughton
A charming story about the importance of nature and community.
The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer
A fabulous exploration of the world of invertebrates to inspire a new generation of entomologists.
RSPB My First Book of Garden Wildlife by Mike Unwin and Tony Sanchez/RSPB My First Book of Garden Birds by Mike Unwin, Sarah Whittley and Rachel Lockwood
These books are ideal for introducing young children to local birds and wildlife.
Nature Adventures by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
What wildlife to spot, identify and enjoy on a ramble in different habitats.