{"id":5939,"date":"2026-01-15T18:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/?p=5939"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:44:11","slug":"%f0%9f%8c%b3-orchard-work-with-incredible-edibles-a-brilliant-winter-morning-of-outdoor-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/dg\/stjosephsprimary\/?p=5939","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udf33 Orchard Work with Incredible Edibles \u2013 A Brilliant Winter Morning of Outdoor Learning!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We had a fantastic (and very muddy!) winter morning in our school grounds as Norval Dampney from Incredible Edibles came to visit and help us care for our orchard \ud83c\udf31\ud83c\udf4e.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was our first orchard visit of the season, and we were excited to spot the fruit tree buds beginning to fatten up. The children also noticed hazel catkins and tiny red flowers, which led to some brilliant questions – including why hazel flowers in winter. We talked about how hazel is wind-pollinated rather than relying on insects, which may be why it flowers earlier in the year. A great example of pupil curiosity leading the learning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The children were extremely enthusiastic and very well behaved, listening carefully and getting fully involved in the tasks. They helped with mulching and pruning, and also checked the trees for signs of damage and crossing branches, learning how this helps keep trees healthy and growing well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were lots of great conversations too, as Norval spoke with the pupils about food miles, carbon footprint, local produce, pesticides, microbes in the soil, wildlife habitats, and even how cardboard is made. The children asked thoughtful questions and showed a real interest in how our food and environment are connected \ud83c\udf0d\ud83d\udc1d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are also very lucky at St Joseph\u2019s to have a wonderful wild woodland area at the back of our playground, which is perfect for nature spotting and outdoor learning. It was especially lovely to hear that this area was planted by Norval\u2019s own class and the after-school club when she taught here around 20 years ago, and that the school has continued to care for it by keeping it wild and adding log habitat piles and benches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A huge thank you to Norval and Incredible Edibles for such an informative, hands-on and inspiring session. Everyone really did get mucked in, and it was a lovely way to spend a winter morning learning outdoors \u2744\ufe0f\ud83c\udf3f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udf0d UNCRC (Rights of the Child)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n