He was the size of a frog, only round and blue. He had boggly eyes and a spiky tail and I do remember he had ears like a mouse.' This is the moment that the fictional children in Jeanne Willis's picture book The Bog Baby first discover their friendly swamp creature. Children at Tangmere Primary School in West Sussex, however, got to discover, nurture and eventually release their very own bog babies.
In the story, two young sisters go fishing in the woods and are surprised to find a strange but friendly mystical animal, a bog baby. After putting him in a jam jar, they raise him in the garden shed, feeding him on breadcrumbs. As time passes, however, the girls realise that their bog baby is getting sick, and with the help of their mother they release him back into the swamp. The story is a heart-warming tale of how important it is to respect nature, but also how exciting it can be to explore it.
The children at Tangmere Primary School have learnt just that. The teachers at the school fashioned some clay bog babies and hid them in the school pond for the children to discover. Finding their very own bog babies, the children looked after their clay pets. Just like in the story, the children eventually had to release their creatures back into the wild.
FREE VISITS
Arundel Wetland Centre at the base of South Downs National Park, run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), was the final destination for the bog babies and is one of the WWT sites taking part in the trust's Inspiring Generations Free School Visits Scheme.
Launched in September last year, the programme aims to provide free access to natural conservation areas to school children in disadvantaged areas, target those areas where children rarely engage with nature, and provide these children with memorable outdoor learning experiences with guided learning sessions.
During these free trips, children can go pond dipping, look for birds, hunt for invertebrates and explore wetland habitats. For Tangmere Primary School, however, the children had one mission: to get their bog babies back home.
WWT sent the children a letter, notifying them that some bog babies had escaped from the Arundel Wetland Centre. The children then had to research where in the 65-acre centre would be suitable to release their tiny blue swamplings. The bog babies' smiley faces were turned upside down by teachers of the Year One class, so the children recognised the urgency of getting them home safely.
They released the bog babies in a suitable wetland habitat, but the children were nervous their clay pets were still unhappy. 'Staff at the centre helped by affixing smiles on to the newly wild creatures to ease the children's worries,' says Claire Drew, WWT learning manager.
The children left the centre engrossed and indulged in the natural world, and happy to see their bog babies safe at last. Ms Drew adds, 'I'm pleased that Tangmere was able to take advantage of our Inspiring Generations programme. We are delighted to provide a home for the bog babies.'
DON'T MISS OUT
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, uptake of the free places at the 65-acre WWT Arundel Wetland Centre has been relatively slow. 'We do not want people to miss out on this wonderful opportunity to get outdoors and get hands-on with nature,' says Ms Drew.
The Inspiring Generations scheme is supported by HSBC through its community investment programme, and open to all UK state schools with 20 per cent or more children on free school meals. Information on the scheme and all participating centres is at www.wwt.org.uk/conservation/wwt-projects/inspiring-generations.
As well as Arundel, the other centres involved are:
- WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, near Comber, County Down
- WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre
- WWT London Wetland Centre
- WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
- WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Gloucestershire
- WWT Washington Wetland Centre, Tyne and Wear.
If wildlife pictures alone aren't enough to persuade you to pay a visit, then you can see what some schools have experienced through the scheme in more detail by clicking on the case study links to:
- Queen's Manor Primary School - the children went pond dipping and explored the concept of water as a habitat
- Churchdown Parton Manor Junior School - the visit was used to develop children's understanding of sustainability and the Earth's limited resources
- Ynysddu Primary School - through the visit, the children built on their studies of birds
- Holmleigh Primary - the children learned how to show respect for living creatures.
The success of the Tangmere visit will hopefully promote the scheme, and encourage other schools to take advantage of the opportunity.
THE WILDFOWL AND WETLANDS TRUST
WWT was set up in 1946 by Sir Peter Scott. Its aim is to engage and inspire people, governments and businesses to take direct action to save wetlands and their wildlife and provide the tools to do so.
Its wetland centres have welcomed more than 20 million people over the years, introducing children and adults alike to the wonders of wetland wildlife. More than 2.2 million school children have now visited a WWT centre for an up-close learning experience with nature.
The trust centres manage more than 2,600 hectares of UK wetlands and between them support more than 200,000 waterbirds and other wildlife.
MORE INFORMATION
- www.wwt.org.uk
- The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward makes the basis for a great nursery project. For more activity ideas relating to the story, see 'Let's explore ... The Bog Baby', www.nurseryworld.co.uk/article/891400
- Another Willis and Millward picture book that make a great focus is The King of Tiny Things. For ideas, see www.nurseryworld.co.uk/article/997949. Both project outlines are by Helen Bromley.
