The Great Schools Nature Hunt
Hello Nature Detectives…
To celebrate Steve Backshall’s Wild Heligan coming to the Lost Gardens of Heligan this summer, we want you to go on a wild mission right in your own school playground. You don't need to travel to a deep jungle to find amazing nature – there’s an incredible world of plants and wildlife living right outside your classroom door.
Your mission
Grab a clipboard, head outside and see what wildlife you can spot. Write them down and take a photo of them as you go – you could even have a go at grouping them!
Look closely at the ground, near fences, or under bushes. Can you find:
- Dandelion (Look for bright yellow petals or fluffy white "clocks")
- Daisy (White petals with a bright yellow centre, growing in the grass)
- Clover (Look for leaves grouped in threes - can you find a lucky four-leaf one?)
- Stinging Nettle (Careful! Don't touch - look for jagged leaves)
- Ivy (A climbing plant with dark green, pointed leaves growing up walls or trees)
Scientists group plants by looking at their special features. Can you find an example of each of these groups in your playground?
- Flowering plants (Plants that produce seeds and grow colourful blossoms)
- Non-flowering plants (Plants like mosses or ferns that don't have flowers)
- Deciduous trees (Trees with broad leaves that drop off in the winter)
- Evergreen trees (Trees or shrubs that stay green all year round, like holly or pine)
Create a wild fact file
Pick your absolute favourite plant or mini-beast discovery from your playground hunt. Fill out the fact file below, draw a picture of it or take a photo!
- Name of my find
- Where I found it (e.g., under a log, in a sunny patch of grass)
- Describe what it looks like (colour, shape, size)
- One cool fact about it
Win a class trip to Steve Backshall’s Wild Heligan!
Teachers, we want to see what your class discovered! Send your students' finished fact files along with photos of their playground finds to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The winning class will win a free class trip to Heligan this summer to experience the magic of Steve Backshall’s Wild Heligan!
How to enter
Send pictures of your finds and fact files to [email protected] - making sure to use a sharing platform like WeTransfer to send videos - with your class details, and we'll do the rest!
Get in your entries before July 13 in order to be entered into the competiton. We'll pick a winner by July 15 and get arranging the winning school's visit!
Home mission: parent worksheet
Become a wild presenter! Brought to you by The Lost Gardens of Heligan and Steve Backshall.
Download this printable sheet and send it home for children to do with their parents – for a chance of winning a signed Steve Backshall book!
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