John Muir Award 2022
Week 8
Aidan has designed his own talking stick.
Today the weather is changing we can see the how the trees are starting to shed their leaves. The focus was on seeds today and we were able to find lots of different seeds on the ground. This reminded us of the Parable of the sower some seeds were scattered on the path, some on rocky ground, some amongst the thorns and some fell on good soil. Can you predict which seeds grew the best?
We are all, every one of us, farmers. We scatter spiritual seeds across the field of life, seeds of grace, joy, love, anger, hatred, self. And, as sure as the sun rises, these seeds will bear fruit at harvest time. What fruit they produce is determined by what kind of seeds they are. This gave us time to think and reflect.
Week 7
Today was about making fire. We went through the safety rules and made sure that everyone knew what to do. Then it was time to live out our school value of dedication as many of us found it a challenge to set our cotton wool alight. We really had to focus on the instructions and trust Lauren to share her skills with us. Finally we all completed the challenge and enjoyed toasting our marshmallows.
Week 6
Week 5
Today we made apple juice picking the apples from the apple tree. It was great fun being able to pick from the tree and then carry out the process of creating juice.
Week 4
Today we looked at the different trees in the ECO garden. We have identified many different types using a classification key. The birch tree did not look very healthy today, unfortunately it has had to be taken out and we will be using the wood for seating. We will plant another couple of trees to replace it, next term. We also had a good look at what is growing in each class box. Can you see something interesting?
This week we focused on trees and what life might look like from their viewpoint. We thought about the bird's eye view or indeed a drone view. Tree identification is a really important skill and we intend to be able to plot and name the trees living in our Eco garden.
Can you think about any stories from the bible that are based around trees?
Can you find stories from other holy books about trees?
Week 3. Looking at the world through a different viewpoint.
Today we chose to look at the trees in our eco area. One tree had fallen and had gone from being strong to becoming weak just like human beings. As we watched the strong tree weaken and fall it was interesting to discuss how the tree had become logs for us to sit upon. so no longer were we sat on the ground but we had risen up, having comfort and strength for all our backs and legs.
Looking carefully at the apple seeds made us think about school value of respect looking after nature so that fruit is produced for us to eat.
Week 2 Identification of trees and tasting apples
Today we took the time to appreciate our beautiful setting created by God. In the midst of the world being such a busy, loud place we took the opportunity to embrace the school value of peace. The chance to draw breath and be still to think about how lucky we are to be in living in such a beautiful place. To take the time to think about our link children in Kolkata and discuss the contrasts of our environments.
Valuing God's beautiful world.
Week 1 exploring the ECO garden with Lauren from into the wild wood
