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This was our second wildlife rangers outing to the Water of Leith. This time we discovered a variety of mushrooms and fungi around the area. Some of them we have found before but many of them we did not know about - including the poisonous ones. Once we collected the mushrooms we compared them in shape, size, colour and smell. To finish off the morning session we created some artwork in groups using all the different Autumn colours we could find around us.

At the end of our first wildlife rangers visit we got the opportunity to take part in an extreme SLUG challenge. This included giving ourselves slug beards and eyebrows...YUK! warning - no slugs where harmed in the making.

For our first Earth Calling trip in conjunction with achieving our John Muir award we visited the Water of Leith woodland area in Edinburgh. We discussed the different variety of plants and tress around this area and learnt how to identify them from the appearance of their leaves. We then had to collect five different types and discuss in groups why we picked those particular ones.

So we were more successful 2nd time round and heated up our water for our pasta pots! By the end of the year we aim to be foraging for food and cooking it on a fire lol.. for now this is our begining :) Rowan enjoyed eating berries as well.

Some trees for the tree detectives to identify.... And some nature art.

29th Sept During a walk with our friend Sue we discovered a deer who seemed to be watching dogs playing on the path beyond it.

We learnt about St Brigid while on holiday in Ireland this summer. In a cottage museum we learnt that people made St Brigid's crosses and hung them in their homes and cow sheds if they had them. The belief is she travels around on St Brigid's day blessing all the crosses to bring the people good luck and protection for the year ahead. They are made of rushes or "sieves" (I'm not sure of the spelling) as they are called around here. These are one thing Walkmill Community Woodland are not short of. It is quite damp in parts! We learnt how to make them and shared our knowledge at a gardening club we go to in Moresby and on a family outward bound weekend away.