Getting started with Gardenwatch

Have you got involved with any of the Gardenwatch challenges? Have you logged what’s in your outdoor and garden space? Have you been studying mini-beasts and worms? What birds have you spotted in your garden? How are you looking after and attracting them? And what about mammal tracks… spotted any yet? We’d love to hear about it if you have… why not post some pictures on our Facebook page?

We understand that it can be hard - particularly when you have limited space - to think about your playground as a ‘garden’... or to know where to start in learning about the natural world that lives within it. There are loads of great resources on the Gardenwatch website - like iSpot (where you can upload photos of the things you’ve found to help with identification) but we wanted to share some of our own products, as well, to inspire you to get closer to nature in your play area.

Top products for nature

1. Plants - We have a wide range of planters and places to grow plants (including vegetables and salad). Many of them come ‘ready to play’ and we’ll even supply the compost! How about this Fun Grow Seating Planter - a robust and chunky low level planter bed with perimeter seating.
2. Mini-beasts - Our Mini-Beast Exploration Table Includes three magnifying lenses to ensure lots of children can gather around. The rotating table top underneath the lenses can hold six di?erent samples, as well.
3. More mini-beasts - Always popular our Mini-Beast Habitat is a natural habitat for mini-beasts. It’s the perfect addition to nature areas and for learning about the environment outside the classroom. A hedgehog house is also included!
4. Even more insects - Our Insect Study Centre includes a hay loft - (a chalet style insect shelter and refuge from predators), bug zone (specially prepared bamboo nesting tubes for solitary bees and other over-wintering insects including ladybirds and lacewings), over-wintering zone (the second storey has an open side access and an overwintering chamber ready to fill with bark, straw or leaves) and interactive bee trays (slotted wooden interactive nesting trays for mason bees, leafcutter bees and other insects).
5. Worms - We love our Worm World Discovery. The front panel features interesting facts all about worms and the curved roof keep worms cool and protected from the sun. It even includes a voucher for approx 300 worms and nutrient rich compost.
6. Birds - Our Flower Bird Feeders are suitable for all types of food, seed, kibbled nuts and mealworms. A drainage hole is provided in the flower to stop it filling with rain.
7. Squirrels - They might be a pain when you’re trying to feed birds but we love squirrels… and our Squirrel Feeder gives them their own space to feed.
8. Water life - Our Water World Discovery Pond is a child-safe pond with a lockable, rigid mesh safety cover and a chalk-board surface for drawing and recording the plants and wildlife children may observe living in or around the pond.