Spring has well and truly sprung. I am sure you have been spotting blossom, new buds and leaves growing on the trees and new spring time flowers in the grass and borders in peoples gardens. Today (Wednesday 22nd April) is EARTH DAY which is celebrated around the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection so there is no better day than to start a record of what is living and growing in our community.
When you are out for your daily exercise or when in your garden you can collect one example of each flower and leaf. When you get home you can present these together to make a record of what you found. Once you have arranged your collection you can now spend the time identifying what each species is that you have collected. You can do this by going online or use books that you may have to id your leaves and flowers. If you find it tricky to id a specific item send us a photograph and we will see if we can help.
You may want to preseve the species you have found for longer than a few days and create a framed display of what you have found on Earth Day in 2020. You can do this by pressing and drying your collection. This can be done with a special flower press or you can achieve the same results by placing each item between two pieces of paper and then place a weight ie a couple of heavy books on top and leave them there for a week. The items will then have dried out and become very delicate. These can then be glued and framed for a keepsake. If you coat each item with PVA glue it will dry clear and preserve your leaf or flower in place.
Enjoy Earth Day and if you are looking for some more activities to do today then why not check out earthday.org who are posting a meaningful action every hour to make a better planet.