The Tour

Ponds and Pond Dipping

So, you thought that frogs were the most interesting things you could find in a pond? Well, think again - and this time look closely!

Look first at the plants that grow thickly around the sides of the pond. For amphibians this is a safe haven and if you're lucky you may see one on its travels.

But how are you going to see what's underneath? Dip with nets! Each pond has purpose-built platforms where a trained member of staff will show you how to find and identify the creatures living under the surface and how to do this safely.

The four ponds you can find at the centre will give you a great range of animals to find, from the smallest of invertebrates to the rare and protected Greater Crested Newt with its bright orange belly.

Fancy a dip?

The smallest of our four ponds is seasonal. At the right time of year it is flooded with frogspawn and tadpoles. The Greater Crested Newt (an endangered species) also thrives here and visitors are often lucky enough to catch a glimpse of its orange belly or crested back darting through the water.

The larger pond is an ideal place to learn about the smaller animals that inhabit ponds, yet are so often forgotten.

The amphibian pond is the place to be seen if you're a newt although, like the small pond, at the right time of year you can also find frogspawn, tadpoles and frogs.

The newest of our ponds is small enough for our youngest visitors, tall enough for wheelchair users and just as full of life as the other three!

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Teachers Information - Ponds and Pond Dipping

We have four ponds offering a variety of wildlife, one being seasonal and liable to disappear in a hot summer!

Many flying insects begin their lives in these ponds - dragonflies, damselflies and midges - as well as amphibians such as frogs and newts. Other creatures found are water dwellers - such as water mites, water boatmen and water hoglouse - and can be studied if caught when pond dipping!

Many of these creatures are at the beginning of food chains. Here is a chance to understand how they fit into the life of the ponds and the habitats surrounding them.

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Picnic Area

Where better to relax at lunchtime than the picnic area, near to the Centre building, under the trees. There is also space for games and a run-around, but don't worry, you can always use the classroom if it's raining.

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Log Piles

Can you look at a "creepy crawly" without squealing? Well, imagine what you look like to them!

Turn over a log. How many creatures can you see (look closely!)? Compare different habitats - where do you find the most bugs? Why?

All these questions and more are answered on a mini-beast hunt with education staff.

Examine the animals you find carefully and use a key to identify what they are. How many legs do they have? Are they jointed? Use a bar chart to record how many of each type you find or, perhaps draw a picture of your favourite monster!

Without bugs, plants wouldn't be pollinated, animals wouldn't be fed, soil wouldn't be made - the whole world would soon grind to a halt.

It's a bug's life!

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Teachers Information - Log Piles

Everything that can be re-used at the centre is re-used. For example, trees that have had to be felled become designer housing for many creatures on the site.

The log piles provide food and shelter for small animals such as slugs, snails, millipedes and beetles that can only survive in dark and damp conditions. There are smaller insects that live in the rotting logs, their existence only revealed by the disintegration of the wood.

In such places is the beginning of food chains and a chance to understand the place of these small creatures in the world.

Bug hunting provides the opportunity to look closely at some of these creatures and how to respect their habitat.

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Habitats

So, when was the last time you saw a hippo in your local high street?

It may sound like a silly question but it's simply an example of an animal being in the wrong sort of habitat. So what is a habitat, what makes different habitats appealing for different animals and what happens if their habitats change?

At the Environment and Education Centre there is a range of habitats to study from ponds and marshes, to trees and a meadow. Use a quadrant to mark out the area to be examined and look closely. What can you find? Identify what you see in each site and learn more about the world you normally pass by.

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Teachers' Information - Habitats

Woodland, meadowland and ponds - three very different habitats to be explored and compared at the centre.

The woodland is varied - an area of smaller denser growth providing shelter for many birds and small animals; tall, spreading trees with bare, leaf-mould soil beneath, the trees dotted with woodpecker holes; an avenue of tall trees with grass below where squirrels are often seen.

The meadowland has an abundance of wild flowers and grasses during the late spring and summer. It provides good cover and a plentiful food supply for many small ground and flying insects, which in turn become food for birds and small animals. It is only cut once a year to encourage birds of prey to hunt there.

The ponds are full of life! This is a very different habitat and appears separate to the woodland and meadow. In fact they are all linked. From the pond come many flying creatures - food for woodland birds! Frogs and newts have to be quick to miss the sharp eyes of the owl or fox. The pond will be the watering hole for many creatures too.

Because of the way these habitats work together, life is thriving at the Environment and Education Centre.

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Bird and Insect Spotting

Man only learnt to fly during the last century but birds and some insects have been doing it for thousands of years.

As well as pollinating various plants, birds help to carry seeds all over the world and, along with bats and other animals, act as a pest control by eating unhelpful insects.

Act like a detective and try to find clues of the birds that live at the centre. Be very quiet. Can you see or hear them? Is there anywhere for them to live? What do they eat? Have they left any clues?

Of course detectives don't let a bit of bad weather stop them, so if it is wet or cold you can always look for what's flying by, while watching from our purpose built indoor bird hide.

Birds that have been spotted at Clay Lane

Wren Blackbird Pigeon Green Woodpecker Greater Spotted Woodpecker Blue Tit Coal Tit Great Tit Long-tailed Tit Goldfinch Greenfinch Chaffinch Little Owl Tawny Owl Moorhen Tree Creeper Canada Goose Hawk Finch Robin Brambling Jay Crow Rook Sparrow Starling Duck

Click here to be directed to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds website www.rspb.org.uk.

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Trees

What can be the oldest, tallest and heaviest living thing in the world? What single living thing can support hundreds of species of insects? A tree of course! They play such an important role in life that they are even worshipped today.

Trees shared the world with the dinosaurs outliving them by thousands of years. Now they share our homes. How much wood do you see in a day - and in how many different forms?

Trees are gentle giants that are easy for us to ignore as we go about our busy lives but they produce the oxygen that we breathe and are an important part in the food web.

But how do you tell the difference between the many different species of tree you can find at the Environment and Education Centre?

Let the Centre staff show you how!

You could have a go at bark rubbing or, if the weather's bad, make your own tree in the classroom. Be a poet or make up a story about a tree.

How many different animals can you discover in one tree? Make up one of our bird boxes to put on one of the trees at your school.

Trees are amazing!

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Teachers' Information - Trees

The woodland at the Environment and Education Centre contains a good selection of deciduous and coniferous trees. At almost any time of the year there is the possibility of investigating them - identifying species by leaf shape, seeds and bark texture; collecting evidence to show which is deciduous and which coniferous; looking at other life that exists in trees such as birds, plants and insects; and exploring how man uses trees as wood for building, making paper and bark chippings.

There is also an opportunity for children to plant tree seeds and nurture the seedlings which are then planted out in the tree nursery on site ready to be taken to a permanent location.

On wet days all is not lost! Inside, rubbings and leaf printing can be enjoyed and identifying games played.

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Reservoir

After the water has been cleaned at the Water Treatment Works, it is stored in a reservoir tank.

Do you think you'd see any water here?

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Orienteering

What does orienteering mean? Can you read a map? Have you ever used a compass?

At the centre we have some basic orienteering courses that can teach you these skills. See if you can complete the course successfully to work out the secret word!

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Garden - Patio Box

Become a gardener at the centre and plant your own drought resistant planter. We'll show you how it's done and you get the finished product to take back to school!

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Teachers' Information - Garden - Patio Box

How about making a patio box for your school grounds that lasts with a little watering?

We can introduce you to drought resistant plants and with the children's help, use a selection of these to make up a patio box for them to tend. There are special features to our boxes - come and make one and find out what!

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Garden - Butterfly Garden

Specially designed and planted by the British charity Butterfly Conservation, the chosen plants attract butterflies and caterpillars throughout the spring and summer months as well as a host of other flying insects.

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Garden - Sensory Garden

An interesting "hand" shape that shows how plants can appeal to each of your five senses. Can you name all five senses?

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Teachers' Information - Show Home

The house next to the gardens is also owned by Three Valleys Water and is fitted with a silver water system. The water usage from its residents is closely monitored to allow us to study further the peaks and troughs of demand.

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Teachers' Information - Parking

The centre has its own car and coach park on site but don't worry about coach parking if you book the coach through us - the driver will know where to come!

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Teachers' Information - Boardwalks

The Environment and Education Centre and site was built with special needs in mind. For wheelchair access, there are wide, sturdy boardwalks and dipping platforms throughout the site, helping to ensure that everyone can take part in all the activities.

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