Chinese Welfare Association After-School Club
On a recent visit to Clandeboye Estate, Bangor, a group of children from the Chinese Welfare Association’s (CWA) After School Club experienced a hands-on lesson in biodiversity.
Children from the Chinese Welfare Association on the nature trail in Clandeboye Estate. The 17 children aged 6 – 10, had lots of fun taking part in a series of activities, designed to test their senses. The non-academic activities were not lessons in plant classification or full of scientific language – they are simply based on learning through adventure and fun.
The first activity was based on colour. Having been set the challenge of finding as many different colours as possible, the children explored the woodland to collect tiny pieces of leaves, flowers, twigs and whatever else they could find on the woodland floor. Using sticky card to collect the fragments, the children were surprised to find up to thirty different colours in such a small area. This was an eye-opener to some, who believed there were only five different colours in the world!!
The persistent rain didn’t deter the children putting their sense of smell to the test. Equipped with a plastic tumbler, they set off to create their own ‘Cocktail of Whiffs’ by collecting small samples of various plants in their tumbler. Encouraged to stop and smell different herbs, shrubs and trees, the children quickly learnt why some plants attract a wide range of wildlife - as in the case of the beautifully aromatic Buddleja - the so-called 'Butterfly Bush'. Having collected a range of distinct scents in their glasses the children enjoyed the simple exercise and became more aware of the benefits of the diversity of nature.
Learning about one of the trees on Clandeboye Estate. The third activity was based on nature’s variety of surface textures. Teams of three children, equipped with an ornate egg box, collected small pieces of wood or plants relating to two contrasting adjectives printed on the bottom side of the egg box – for example ‘Rough and Smooth’, ‘Thick and Thin’, ‘Hard’ and ‘Soft’. In a shared session, the children had fun guessing the hidden descriptions of the other groups by investigating the collected items.
Another challenge gave the children a lot of funny moments. Grouped in threes, the children blindfolded one member of the group and led them on to a particular tree in the woodland. Having been given a few moments to explore the tree, using only touch, and the child is guided away from the tree, the blindfold is removed and the challenge of finding the same tree starts. The children had the most fun when it was the turn of their leaders and CVNI staff to be blindfolded!!!
In only a few short hours, the children had an elementary lesson in biodiversity, which was fun and rewarding. The activities were set to encourage the children to stop and look at their natural surroundings, whether on visits to forests, in their garden at home or on the way to school. The exercises helped develop a sense of adventure and feed their imagination using the simple, natural, everyday environment.