Day 30 we celebrated nature

To mark the end of our 30 days wild we celebrated nature by taking a rainbow photo - finding things in all the rainbow colours out in the wild.

We also collected some litter - we want to look after our environment.

We have loved our 30 days wild. Although some days it has felt a bit contrived to try and find something wild to do, when we really didn't feel like it, or just wanted to curl up inside out of the rain, we have always enjoyed ourselves and were pleased we made the effort.

We fully intend to continue with our wild adventure. There were plenty of things we had thought of doing that for one reason or other, we didn't manage to fit in. And when we do something special or noteworthy we will continue to update our blog... so keep tuned for more wild Willis adventures.

Day 29 we made mud pies

More rain, but now undaunted we headed out to do the only sensible thing - make mud pies!

The way Beatrix does it is a bit more convoluted than I remember as a child but she had fun!!

Here's the recipe...

What you will need:

2 stones preferably large, one flat and one with a rounded top

A small mixing bowl

A spoon or spade

Some mud

Some water

Some leaves (optional)

First collect suitable stones from around the garden! These will form the base and top of the pie.

Then mix mud and water together in your bowl

Here's what it should look like...

Carefully transfer the mud mixture to your pie base (one of the stones)

You may need to tap the bowl to get all your mixture out!

Here's what you should have now - the pie base, with the pie filling nicely piled on top.

Add some greenery to garnish if you so wish.

Finally, place your pie top (other stone with the rounded top) on top.

 And... Ta dah - one lovely mud pie!

The benefit of this kind of "cooking" is that there is little to tidy up, unless, like Alfie, you choose to go around barefoot...

Day 28 we saw deer and celebrated the humble stick

Alfie spotted two deers in the school grounds. A mother and new born fallow deer.                              

Alfie's drawing of the deer

Back at home we all celebrated the humble stick, by thinking up different ways we have used sticks ourselves, and then thought about other things we could do with them too...

1. Hug it
2. Play with it as a sword
3. Collect them 
4. Dance with them
5. Point them
6. Peel them
7. Paint them
8. Make messages with them (like we did yesterday!)
9. Use it like a bat to play sport
10. Make them into a den
11. Make a fire
12. Make a fairy house
13. Make a bug home
14. Make a real house
15. Make picture or a sculpture
16. Draw with them in the sand
17. Use them as an instrument
18. Stir a potion, soup or other brew
19. Make a tower
20. Make them into a split to help mend a broken bone
21. Brush your teeth - like they used to before toothbrushes
22. Make a fence
23. Make a basket
24. As a walking stick
25. To clear a path of stinging nettles
26. As a fishing rod
27. Fix together to make a kite
28. To poke into an ant's nest
29. As a magic wand
30. Make it into a mobile or other decoration 
31. To fix your hair if its long enough
32. To throw for a dog
33. Make into a raft to go on the water
34. Make a sundial
35. Make flag pole
36. As a skewer to cook food on your fire make of other sticks!
37. Knock apples from high up in the tree
38. Make a bow and arrow
39. Dig with it
40. You can carve or whittle a stick 

So many things... if you have any more ideas, leave us a comment...

Day 27 was about simple fun

We did a few simple wild things today...

 Beatrix and I made daisy chains with a couple of her school friends.

We then left a message on the grass outside school for people coming in tomorrow... Alfie needs a bit of help with his spelling!!

Day 26 we explored the canal

We got out and about again despite the rain... In fact this whole 30 Days Wild has taught us that getting out is always fun, whatever the weather...

Today, we decided to walk along the canal, from where it joins the river in Widcombe, up to Sydney Gardens. It was such a lovely walk and we discovered a peaceful and interesting part of Bath, right on our doorstep, that we had never explored before!

Building on our scientific theme yesterday we started our trail by carrying out a water sampling experiment as part of the Waterblitz from Fresh Water Watch, which is a global project to understand the state of fresh water.

We choose a quiet spot near the first lock, behind the Travelodge. (Long 51.377 / Lat -2.354). There was a stone wall, grass and trees in the area. We couldn't see any obvious signs of pollution (no oil, floating algae, litter or foam). The water was clear and green.

Then we collected our water sample. The time was 14.53.

We put it in the special tester - one to test for nitrate levels, which are increased by agricultural fertiliser.

And one to test for phosphate levels, which comes from agricultural run-off and domestic waste water and can cause algae blooms. Excess amounts of either nitrates or phosphates in the water can damage the natural flora and fauna of the ecosystem.

We waited 3 minutes for the nitrate test and 5 minutes for the phosphate test

 And then we recorded the results... between 2-5 ppm nitrates

 And less than 0.02 ppm phosphates

We continued along the canal...

...spotting a kingfisher, this heron and several ducks

We finally reached Sydney Gardens and enjoyed a brief dry spell before the rain started again.

We really enjoyed our walk even if we were a bit soggy when we got home!

We finished off our water sampling by inputing the data online. If you want to find out more or get involved yourselves here's the link: https://freshwaterwatch.thewaterhub.org

Day 25 we participated in the Bath Festival of Nature

We braved the rain and enjoyed doing some fun scientific experiments at the Bath Festival of Nature.

We contributed to a science experiment, exploring how much alcohol fruit flies drink, and how it helps them fight disease.

 We explored bees and bugs under the microscope and with our magnifying glasses.

We entered the Jelly Worm competition, using research on how to create long biodegradable polymers which could replace plastics in the future.

We explored how water is purified using filters.

We learnt about all the bats that live in bath and what we can do to protect them. We even entered a competition to name a bat!

Basically really interesting and lots of fun activities. We're hoping they do it again next year and we get to see the parade next time.