Junior Park Rangers Newsletter
Summer 2010
Nature News Looking after our Bees
Hello JPRs Welcome to our summer newsletter. The summer time is the busiest time in our parks; in addition to the fun you can have in your local park we’ve got loads of great JPR activities planned for you to enjoy. In this edition we will look at honey bees and what we can do to help them and find out how to have fun playing football this summer. To save our trees we are going to start reducing the number of newsletters we post out and will soon be asking you to read our cool version of the newsletter online. If you have any comments about our newsletter or would like to see us cover any particular issues please let us know.
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During the summer months you’ll see bees busily pollinating flowers in your garden and in parks. However, there are fewer and fewer bees about than previous years. Scientists are not sure what is causing the drop in bee numbers, but it could be for a number of reasons such as disease, the changing weather, loss of green spaces, and maybe even chemicals. There are a few things we can all do to help them. We can start by planting bee friendly plants.
Bee friendly plants Honey bees rely on garden flowers for their diet of nectar and pollen so you can help them by planting things in your garden like mint, beans and flowering herbs. Bees also like daisy shaped flowers such as asters and sunflowers, as well as tall plants like foxgloves.
Why are Bees so important? Bees are really important for everyone as they produce honey and make beeswax which is used in cosmetics, candles and furniture polish. We also rely on them for something essential… Bees pollinate around one-third of all the plants and foods we eat including fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Without bees many plant crops wouldn’t grow, so there would be no apples or strawberries to eat, no cotton t-shirts and a lot less for farm animals.
Competition Results Where’s Birt? In the last edition we asked you to spot where Birt was. The answer was Cwmdonkin Park. We received lots of correct entries and selected one at random. This month’s winner is Adam from Penlan who wins a £40 Nandos voucher. Congratulations to you! For fun we also asked you to spot how many Daffodils were in the last edition. The answer was 15.
Play football in your park Germany, Brazil and England all have one thing in common this summer, and it’s not the weather! No, all of these nations along with 29 others will be competing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Unfortunately, Wales will not be going and so we will have to support England as the only British side taking part. Will Wales ever compete in a major event? The answer is YES! Football in Wales is getting bigger and better and a number of talented players are emerging through the ranks from Wales U21s and Wales Women’s U19s, who recently gained qualification for an European Elite group stage for the first time ever this year. Swansea has over 30 clubs and 70 teams at different age groups, with boys and girls competing every week. You can be a part of this too…Active Swansea Leisure Centres are running football activities and Reeco Soccer Schools. Swansea City Football in the Community also has various football programmes running during the term time and school holidays. For more information on taking part in football please visit www.activeswansea.com or email rob.thomas2@swansea.gov.uk. In the mean time why don’t you give football a go in your local park? It’s a great place for you to learn new skills and improve.
Try these challenges for keeping the ball up in the air using your feet, knees or head.
Challenge One 1. Always start with the ball in your hands. 2. Drop the ball and try to kick it back up into your hands without it hitting the floor. 3. Drop the ball and try to kick it with your left foot and then your right foot before catching it again in your hands. 4. Now try and kick it three times before catching the ball. 5. Carry on with this challenge, adding one kick in every time you complete it, to see how many times you can kick it before catching it in your hands again.
Challenge Two 1. See how many times you can keep the ball up in the air by using your feet, knees or hands. The only rule is the ball must bounce once on the floor between each kick.
Rocky says, get a helmet habit! Protect your head, wear a helmet
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Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Summer 2010
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr
Jeff ’s Grow your own
What can you grow?
At one of the recent JPR events we planted lots of vegetables in the botanical gardens. Now is the time of year where things grow really well due to the warm weather and bright sunshine so why not give it a go at home? It’s really easy! All you need is some soil, seeds and a trowel, and don’t forget the water. Do not worry if you don't have huge amounts of space – even a window box can supply you with salad through the summer. Many vegetables such as potatoes can be grown in pots on a patio or combined with flowers in your borders.
How about trying to grow lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, beetroot or even flowers? If you leave it a bit late to grow from seed you can buy plants in pots from your garden centre to help get you started.
Summer Events... See below for our forthcoming events. To make booking on to JPR events easier we have recently introduced a new online booking system. 1 June
Wildlife trail
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
3 June
Fun and games
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
9 June
Sport and games
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
4.30pm – 6.00pm
14 July
Orienteering
Singleton Park (meet at Swiss Cottage)
4.30pm – 6.00pm
27 July
Adventure sports
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
29 July
Sport and games
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
3 August
Nature crafts & bug hunt
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
5 August
Garden harvest
Ty’r Blodau, Singleton Botanical Gardens 10.30am – 12.00 noon
10 August
Go ride cycling skills
Singleton Park (meet at Swiss Cottage)
10.30am – 12.00 noon
11 August
Boccia and other sports
Victoria Park (meet at the swings)
4.30pm – 6.00pm
12 August
Go ride cycling skills
Singleton Park (meet at Swiss Cottage)
10.30am – 12.00 noon
17 August
Ducks and other birds
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
19 August
Adventure sports
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
24 August
Arts and nature crafts
Ty’r Blodau, Singleton Botanical Gardens 10.30am – 12.00 noon
26 August
Pond dipping
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.30am – 12.00 noon
8 Sept
Bat & moth night
Clyne Gardens (meet at Woodman Pub entrance)
7.00pm – 9.00pm
All events are free but must be booked in advance. To book online visit www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr or call % 01792 635485
Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Summer 2010
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr
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Fun & Games
Jokes
Where’s Birt?
This month we have jokes submitted from Matthew Evans - age 5
This time Birt isn’t in a park. Can you guess where he is? The winner will receive a £45 Nandos family voucher. You’ll find where to send the entries below.
Q. What kind of bees hum and drop things? A. A fumble bee! Q. What do bees chew? A. Bumble gum! Q. Where do bees keep their money? A. In a honey box See how many Bees you can spot in this edition of Junior Q. What goes zzub, zzub? Park Rangers A. A bee flying backwards! ha ha ha A R U H O S A A F I J X Thanks Matthew! Q S H O N E Y K K A W B
Just for fun
Save Our Bees Wordsearch
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Summer Maze The boy wants to fly his kite at the park. Can you help him find his way?
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Junior Park Rangers Club City and County of Swansea, Parks Development Room 211, Penllergaer Offices, Penllergaer, Swansea, SA4 9GJ.
01792 635485 juniorparkrangers@swansea.gov.uk www.swansea.gov.uk/JPR If you require this newsletter in another format please contact Marketing Services on 01792 635478. All details correct at time of going to print.
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Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Summer 2010
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr