Feed

With the morning over and lunch a mere memory we were lucky to be invited into the Hessilhead Animal Hospital. Wth voices lowered and eyes open Andy and Gaynor showed us the ward within the hospital building where too many injured animals were being cared for. Incubators sat softly under warm lights filled with Hedghogs, Owls, Pigeons, Birds of Prey and even Bats! Foxes lay deep in their burrows outside while seals swan in pools and warmed themselves under heat lamps. This was real learning with our minds being triggered by the sight of these vulnerable creatures who without the quick thinking of the public and the generosity and caring of the team at Hessilhead would potentially have died.

We learned so much during this visit and our thanks go out to Andy and Gaynor. We learned that these little creatures roll up into tiny little balls when they are threatened and can be active at night and during the day. We listened and learned to the noises that they made and listened to Andy as he explained why they are here and how they often need to gain weight before they are released back into the wild. The Hedgehogs at Hessilhead are closey monitored with weights being taken each day and noted on charts. We learned that they enjoy cat food due to the higher quality compared to some dog foods. We also learned that they like to eat....a lot!

Our college course and investigation into the environment has taken us on the most remarkable of journeys and today was no exception. Our Wednesday class see's us taking part in a Hedgehog Protection Project and our experience today would help us with this while also allowing us to see the 'Utter Importance, Necessity and Value' of Hessilhead. With the help of Andy and Gaynor (Hessilhead) our first task was cleaning the temporary homes for some of their Hedghogs. While changing bedding, food and water we were amazed at amount of work that is required in caring for these beautiful creatures. When we asked Andy how Hedgehogs Hessilhead had cared for over the years and were told that literally thousands of these beautiful creatures had been saved we were taken aback and humbled by this figure. To think that once organisation can do so much good really was motivating for us all. And so we went on....

One December morning, Ollie, Scoobs, Kai and Mr Nicol carefully coaxed a reindeer into a transport box and took it for a walk. They walked down through Ferry Glen, through the woods and to the Post Office in South Queensferry. Once they carefully handed the precious cargo over to the ladies in the Post Office who promised it would be looked after for the journey. The next day, the reindeer safely arrived with it's new owners, far north in the town of Wick. It's new owners sent a photo down to show he had arrived safely, and was settled into his new life. The end......

The group worked on clearing the scrub and small trees at Saltwells NNR, there has been sightings of the white letter hairstreak which are protected under the wildlife act as a priority. By clearing the scrub and small trees they created a woodland ride giving the area more light which attracts the white letter hairstreak. They will also be planting more elm trees which the butterfly feeds off, in the 70's Dutch elm disease killed millions of elm trees thus reducing the number of white letter hairstreak. A couple of students made a hibernaculum using logs and placing them in a pile, this will be a good shelter for wildlife during the winter. Reptiles including the common lizard will benefit from the hibernaculum and will enjoy using it as a basking spot to take in the winter sun.

We were lucky enough to observe a Kestrel swooping down for the kill.

Working with the North Ayrshire Ranger Service each week we have been clearing and tidying the Wee Forest at Lochshore, Kilbirnie.

We wanted to make a variety of nest boxes for different birds. A parent came with their wood working tools and assisted some of the young people to make these little homes for Spring.