Junior Park Rangers newsletter Spring 2010

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Nature News

Looking after our Hedgehogs Having had a really cold winter, animals such as hedgehogs will be coming out of hibernation between March and April.

We can all do lots of things to help hedgehogs and perhaps attract them into our gardens.

If you’re lucky you may be able to spot hedgehogs in your garden or in parks and other green areas all over Swansea.

Hibernation

Hello JPRs Welcome to our first newsletter of 2010.

We hope that you had a great Christmas and New Year and that you all managed to enjoy the snow, whilst keeping warm and safe.

In this edition we will look at hibernation and find out what Active Arnie has been getting up to.

We have also included new fun games for you to tackle.

If you have any comments about our newsletter or would like us to cover any particular issues please let us know.

Contents Welcome JPRs ...............................................1 Nature News ..................................................1 Active Arnie Ideas .........................................2 Events ............................................................3 Jeff’s Corner ..................................................3 Fun & Games.................................................4

Hedgehogs go to sleep (or hibernate) usually between November and March in order to survive the winter, when there is generally little or no food.

During hibernation a hedgehog may wake up several times. If you see one it is a good idea to offer food and water. If there are no signs of problems, let the hedgehogs go on their way.

Feeding hedgehogs Hedgehogs have recently been added to the endangered list in the UK, so there’s even more reason to give them a helping hand.

Here are a few tips: Hedgehogs are the gardener’s friend as they enjoy eating slugs and snails which destroy plants.

If the weather’s bad (frost, snow), a bit of dry dog food usually goes down well. Their other favourite foods are beetles, caterpillars, and earthworms, but they will also eat fallen fruit, cereals, and fresh meat.

The best time to spot them is during dusk.

A source of fresh water is very important, especially in hot weather. Leave out a shallow dish of water near the food.

Don’t feed hedgehog’s bread and milk!

It upsets their stomachs and can give them diarrhoea.

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Jokes Q Why was the crab arrested?

A It was always pinching things.

Q What is a mouse’s favourite game?

A Hide and squeak.

Q When is it unlucky to see a black cat?

A When you’re a mouse.

Q What has four legs a tail, whiskers and cuts grass?

A A lawn miaower.

Competition Results Where’s Birt? In the last edition we asked you to spot where Birt was. He was in the Botanical Gardens in Singleton Park. We received lots of correct answers and we selected one at random. This month’s winner is Jessica from Treboeth who wins a £40 Nandos voucher.

Congratulations to you!

For fun we also asked you to spot how many holly sprigs were in the last edition.

The answer was 20.

Tag rugby skills with Arnie and the Ospreys Ole, ole, ole, ole - Ospreys!

Will the Ospreys reach the final of the Heineken Cup? Will Wales win the 6 Nations rugby tournament this year?

Active Arnie loves rugby and will be supporting the players in both teams over the next few weeks.

Keen to get his rugby skills up to scratch, Arnie has been joining the Ospreys tag rugby sessions at Active Swansea leisure centres and visiting his local park to work on his ball handling and passing skills with his friends.

Tag rugby is great fun and a good way to keep active. If you are interested, you can learn the basics of the game at the Active Swansea and Ospreys rugby skills sessions for 5 – 7 year olds. Check out www.activeswansea.com for more details.

Aim of the game: To score as many tries as possible and to prevent the opposition from scoring.

How to play 1. The aim of the game is to touch the ball down over the opposition’s goal line.

2. Attacking players can only pass the ball backwards to their team mates.

3. To stop the ball carriers scoring, defenders must remove one of the two ribbons and shout “Tagged”.

4. When 4 players have been tagged the ball is turned over to the defending team, who then become the attackers.

It is then their turn to try and score with the ball in hand.

In the meantime why don’t you give rugby a go in your local park? Don’t know how to play?

Here’s a few of the basics to get you started.

To find out more about the rules of rugby and where you can play visit www.activearnie.com.

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Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Spring 2010

www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr

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Make a wormery

Jeff ’s

Corner Have you ever thought about making a wormery?

Worms are great: Worms increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil Worms eat leaves, kitchen peelings and grass Worms leave behind a great fertiliser which feed plants, helping them to grow

What you need: Large clear plastic jar Moist soil Sand Earthworms (they’re easy to find in your garden. Be careful not to hurt them when taking them out of the ground) Old leaves Vegetable peelings / tea leaves What to do: Put a layer of sand in a plastic jar Add a layer of soil Add a layer of sand Add another layer of soil Put the worms in Add a layer of leaves / vegetable peelings / tea leaves Make holes in the lid Cover with a black cloth Place in a cool dark place Watch worms in action; keep the jar topped up with the layers as above. When the jar starts getting full, empty it, along with the worms, onto the soil in your garden. This will help your plants grow really well.

Spring Events...

After talking to lots of Junior Park Rangers and their parents at events, we’ve decided to change how we run our events in the future. We hope that these changes are okay with you. *Please note the change to the times and days.* 10 March

Crafts and games

Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park

4.30pm – 6.00pm

6 April

Vegetable planting

Ty’r Blodau, Singleton Park

10.30am – 12.00 noon

8 April

Sport and games

Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park

10.30am – 12.00 noon

13 April

Arts and crafts

Discovery Centre Brynmill Park

10.30am – 12.00 noon

14 April

Sport and games

Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park

4.30pm – 6.00pm

15 April

Water safari

Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park

10.30am – 12.00 noon

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE, BUT MUST BE BOOKED IN ADVANCE.

Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Spring 2010

www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr

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Fun & Games Where’s Birt?

Just for fun see how many daffodils you can spot!

To celebrate St David’s Day on Monday 1 March – St David is the patron saint of Wales – we’ve hidden loads of daffodils in this edition. The daffodil is our national emblem. You’ll see loads of them in the crowd if you watch Wales play in 6 Nations rugby matches.

Can you spot where Birt is? Send us the correct answer and we’ll draw the winner out of a hat.

The winner will receive a £45 Nandos family voucher.

You’ll find where to send the entries below.

Spring Anagram Unscramble the letters to find the words in our Spring Anagram. a d d f f i l o

Spring Colouring

e h i n n s s u e f l o r w g h o r t w i l p t u g p s n i r a b e l l m r u a d i n o p r r a c e j k t d d e l p u Visit www.swansea.gov.uk/JPR where you will find instructions on how to make an Easter basket.

Juni r Park Rangers Club City and County of Swansea, Parks Development Room 211, Penllergaer Offices, Penllergaer, Swansea, SA4 9GJ. Please e-mail juniorparkrangers@swansea.gov.uk to receive information, reminders and to book on to events.

01792 635485 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 Spring 2010

www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr