| Archive for NEEPS North East Eco-friendly People's Site |
| Townie |
Family Activities ~ June 2008Information courtesy of :http://www.whyorganic.org/family_activities.asp June 2008 Each month why not get out and about, and try something new Here are some activities that you can do on a farm visit in June: Flower Power! Look at the diversity of plants in a meadow, field edge or hedgerow. Mark a small area with a hoop or pegs and string. Look at the number of colours in the area and count the different species of wildflowers and grasses. Can you identify any of them? Did you know? Many once common flowering plants are vanishing from the countryside, victims of chemicals, habitat destruction and over-cropping. As the food for birds and invertebrates, their loss affects the whole food chain. A study comparing organic and non-organic farms found five times more wild plants and 1.5 times as many species on organic farms. How old is that hedge? You can learn the age of a hedge by counting the different types of leaves from trees and shrubs. Take a 30 metre length section of an ancient hedge. For each different species counted, the hedgerow is 100 years old. How old is the hedge that you can see? Did you know? Between 1984 and 1993, the length of managed hedgerows in the UK decreased by nearly a third Soil Association organic standards prohibit: The removal of hedges and banks without permission from the Soil Association Hedge trimming between April and August due to the damage it would do to nesting birds and flowering plants. |