Junior Ranger Club Events
The Junior Ranger Club is part of the Discovery Project run by the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty team and delivered in partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. In 2004 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant of £24,900 to enable the project to take place. The project has grown and developed over the past three years - and Year Four sees the launch of sessions in the May and October Half Terms.
The Junior Ranger Club provides a wide range of enjoyable activities through which children from in and around the AONB can discover the special landscape, wildlife and historical characteristics of this protected area.
In May 2007 a series of five half-day Junior Ranger Club sessions were held in Nunnington; most included a visit to Nunnington Hall. Nunnington Hall is owned and managed by the National Trust.
The five half-day sessions covered five topics. We looked at the cultural heritage of the AONB through a visit 'Behind the Scenes' at Nunnington Hall and learned about 'A Dragon's Tale'.
'Behind the Scenes' - A guide from the National Trust showed the children around the property and enlived their tour with tales of life in years gone by, ghostly sightings and mystery objects from times past. The children followed this up with an opportunity to decorate their own plate to take home, either in a traditional style (like those displayed in the hall) or with a more modern design.
'A Dragons Tale' was an opportunity to learn the local legend of the Nunnington Dragon. Having found out about the Nunnington Worm, the Barnaby Queen Frances Mortain and the noble knight Sir Peter Loschi, the Junior Rangers then constructed a huge dragon which they processed to Nunnington Hall. Of course, we also had our own brave young knight who slew the dragon and rescued our maiden.
We discovered the 'Brilliant Bugs' that work alongside the gardeners in the grounds of Nunnington Hall. After playing environmental games on the lawn in front of the house we searched for bugs in the meadow and identified what we found. Several species of bumblebee were caught; this is exciting because bumblebees are Local Biodiversity Action Plan Species in Ryedale.
'Rock Solid' was the theme for Tuesday afternoon. We started the session learning about fossils and making plaster casts of fossils to take home. We then used chemicals to test the properties of rocks and discovered some of the UK's smelliest rocks before looking for fossils in the walls of Nunnington Hall. At Nunnington Church the children searched for the different types of rocks used in the building and churchyard.
The session titled 'High Flying' provided an opportunity to learn about the AONB landscape through wind-based activities. The children made kites and colourful wind-squids which they took home after flying in Nunnington.
News Posted: 29 May 2007
