09:15
We are all ready to go. The Sun is shining and the children are smiling.
11:00 We have arrived!
12:30 - Orienteering
The children set off on their first activity armed with only a map, some instructions and a compass. Luckily, all groups made it back to the centre and we are now enjoying a spot of lunch.
Sienna S - it was very muddy!
Adele - it was nice looking for the answers to our questions
Abbie - it was a lot of walking but we did have a nice walk
Jorja - I enjoyed the orienteering as I liked using the map identifying the coordinates
The joys of modern technology meant we could record out walk for orienteering. 2.19km
We split into 3 groups for orienteering. There were some excellent map reading skills!
14:00 Disappearing animals - can you spot where the hidden animal is? Freddie C has pointed out where he thinks it is. Do you agree? We’ll add the answer later
After learning about how animals are disappearing, we went on a hunt to see what creatures we could find around the site. We also learnt how to set traps (without harming them) for small animals (shrews, voles and mice). Check back tomorrow to see what we managed to catch.
Animal hunting and trapping
Animal hunting and trapping favourite moments:
Freddie C - it’s really fun as I get to see types of bugs I’ve never seen before.
Dylan - it’s fun. The net is really fun as you get to run around and can catch anything.
Lyla - I like how you get to see different insects.
Sienna D - I enjoyed catching the bugs and then letting them go again.
Freddie N - I have loved taking photos of the nature around us - especially the rabbit that we spotted!
Amelia - I liked playing the threat game as we found possible threats to wildlife!
Shania and Summer enjoyed catching insects using the nets and shaking the trees!
Jorja and Adele were proud to catch a dragonfly called Timothy. He had red and black stripes on his body, clear wings and a rainbow coloured face.
16:30 First, the children had to guess which animal everyone else was through actions alone. We had crayfish, birds, hedgehogs and bees. Try acting out a hedgehog or crayfish - it’s trickier than you might think!
Then the lorries moved in and threatened to destroy their habitats. The children wanted to stay in their safe homes but they had to collect food to survive. There was only one thing to do: run! As fast as they could, they darted out from their homes to collect food before being caught. We learnt the importance of protecting animals’ habitats and doing our part for the environment.
Spoiler alert - hidden animal location
Dinner tonight was at 6:15 and what a feast it was: pizza, chips and peas followed by chocolate fudge cake. Unfortunately, as everyone was so hungry, all the food was eaten before we could get a picture!
19:15 - night walk. Tonight, the children were blindfolded whilst completing an obstacle course. We had a few muddy knees after crawling through the cargo net! We then went on to see what we could hear and see around us.
Favourite moments from today:
Austin - I liked seeing my room, especially as it has a bathroom inside the room. I also liked using the nets to catch animals earlier.
Josh P - we found a leaf bug which was really cool
Megan - I liked the night walk. I liked doing the obstacle course blindfolded and I liked crawling through the cargo net.
Amelie A - my favourite thing today was the twilight walk. I fell over when doing the night walk and thought it was really funny. I was also pushing away the snakes [don’t worry - they were ropes hanging from the trees]
20:30 After walking over 15000 steps today and taking part in many exciting activities, we are finally heading back to our rooms. Everyone is now going to spend a bit of time unpacking their cases and finding their PJs and wash case before heading to bed at 21:00. We have an early 7am wake up call tomorrow morning so need to get plenty of sleep.