Wales Outdoor Learning Week 2024

This week (22 – 28 April) we’re putting the focus on the best classroom – the great outdoors!

We have a range of activities for educators, parents and learners. Join #WOLW24 and start planning your outdoor learning today.

Short outdoor active learning ideas to help learn about Curlews:

Build a nest!

You will need:

  • Outdoor space with natural materials
  • Leaves and twigs

Challenge your pupils to collect natural materials to make a nest for a ground nesting bird. Work in groups or one big team!

Extend: Provide pegs, tweezers, pairs of chopsticks or lollipop sticks to use to mimic the beak movement of a bird.

Take a photo of your nests! How many people can you fit in your nest?

Dig it!

Curlew use their long beak to poke through soft mud to find their food.

You will need

  • A spade or trowels
  • Outdoor space with soil

Dig a small area of ground. How many worms can you find? Imagine how hard Curlews have to work to dig out their food!

Photo: Kev Joynes

Camouflage game

Curlew’s speckled plumage helps them stay camouflaged in the grassland. Play some games to help emphasise the effectiveness of camouflage.

You will need:

  • Cut pieces of wool of different colours into ‘worms’ and place around your outside area.

  1. Challenge your pupils to find the wool ‘worms’.
  2. Gather the wool worms in.
  3. Count how many of each colour.

Ask which colours were easiest/ hardest to spot?

Create Curlew Art

Collect natural materials to create a collage of a curlew.

Take a photo of your Curlew!

Colour in a Curlew egg – Colouring template

Play Curlew Countdown Game

#LoveOurRivers

This #WOLW24 we’re asking you to pledge your allegiance to our rivers — by promising to love them and by making some everyday changes that will help us in our wider mission to improve water quality.

#LoveOurRivers Pledge

Understanding our Rivers

River Food Chains Game

Photo: Peter Rhys Williams