Autumn 2009
Hello JPRs!
Autumn Fruits
I hope you all had a great summer and managed to get out and enjoy one of the great parks we have in Swansea.
Having been pollinated by Bees and other insects during the summer, many wild trees and plants bear fruit in the autumn.
The Junior Park Rangers Club is going from strength to strength and we now have a record number of new members.
These contain the seeds that will grow into the next generation of trees. Many fruits and seeds are very colourful and look very tempting to eat. In fact this is one of their main purposes because animals will eat the fruit and, in turn, spread the seeds.
Autumn is many people‘s favourite part of the year, as the leaves change colour we are treated to a great show of reds, yellows and browns. Take a trip to your local park and see how many different colour leaves you can collect. Over the next few months birds such as swallows will be flying south to warmer climates travelling hundreds of miles from Europe to Africa. You might be surprised to learn how many other birds migrate too. Even the blackbirds in your garden in January could well be winter visitors from Eastern Europe. At our November JPR event we’ll be showing you how you can help the birds in your garden.
Contents... Autumn Fruits.......................................1 Cygnets in Brynmill Park......................2 Poster Competition Result...................2 JPR Autumn Events.............................2 It’s Halloween! .....................................3 Be a nice guy .....................................3 Cress heads........................................4 Fun & Games / Competition ..............4
Whilst some fruits and seeds such as Blackberries and Hazelnuts are very good to eat please be very careful if you go out picking them. Always go with an adult as many berries can be harmful and are easily confused with poisonous varieties. Other seeds such as Sycamore and Horse Chestnuts can be great fun. Just throw a sycamore seed head in the air and watch it float slowly down to the ground and spin like a helicopter. Alternatively use the Horse Chestnut for a game of conkers. If you have a game please only use conkers that have fallen to the ground and be very careful when playing.
Cygnets in Brynmill Park The cygnets in Brynmill Park are growing up fast and beginning to lose their fluffy grey feathers and gain white ones. They are nearly 4 months old and it will be a whole year until they turn totally white.
Please don’t feed us bread as it does not have the vitamins we need to grow strong. It may even make us choke. You can buy Swan food from the kiosk in Brynmill Park to feed the cygnets. This will help them gain the strength they need to fly to warmer climates for the winter.
Please only feed the cygnets proper bird seed that you can get from pet shops or Brynmill Park Kiosk.
Competition Results Name the cygnets In the summer newsletter we asked you to design a poster to go up on notice boards in parks to remind people to pick up their litter and dog poo. Congratulations to Holly Katy Jacobs, aged 10, who will have her winning poster displayed in parks across Swansea. She also receives £40 of Nandos vouchers.
Competition... Send us your ideas for names for the cygnets and we’ll select the best.
The winner will also receive a £40 Nandos family voucher. Send your entries to the address on page 4.
JPR Autumn Events... 10 October
Nature detectives
Ty'r Blodau, Singleton Park
10.00am - 12.00pm
28 October
Bulb Planting
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.00am - 12.00pm
29 October
Hibernation preparations and Halloween arts & crafts
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.00am - 12.00pm
30 October
Sports Day
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.00am - 12.00pm
14 November
Bird Feeders
Ty'r Blodau, Singleton Park
10.00am - 12.00pm
12 December
Winter crafts and games
Discovery Centre, Brynmill Park
10.00am - 12.00pm
For all JPR events please remember to book your place in advance as we only have limited spaces and we don’t want to disappoint you on the day. Call 01792 635485 or email juniorparkrangers@swansea.gov.uk.
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Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Autumn 2009
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr
It’s Halloween! It’s Halloween on Saturday 31 October, so take a spooky ride along Swansea Prom on the popular Halloween Ghost Train. Ideal for children of all ages. Tickets cost £4.50pp and must be purchased in advance. Please ring 01792 635411 to book. All children must be accompanied by an adult and will receive a goody bag. www.swanseaprom.com
Be a Nice Guy! Remember, remember to be a nice guy when out celebrating Halloween and Guy Fawkes this year. The Safer Swansea Partnership is running its annual safety campaign during these two occasions to make sure you and others around you enjoy yourselves in safety.
Halloween Trick or treating can be good fun, but to some people it can be very intimidating, especially older people. If you do trick or treat, stay in your own neighbourhood and knock on the doors of people you know. Try to keep the noise down and don’t throw anything at people’s houses, like flour and eggs. It makes a real mess and you could get in trouble with the police.
Guy Fawkes The safest way to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night is to go to an organised display, such as St Helen’s Fireworks Display. If you are going to a fireworks display held by family or friends, stay away from the fireworks as they are very dangerous. If you have a sparkler make sure you are wearing gloves and adults light one at a time. When it goes out, put it down and do not pick it up again as it will be very hot.
Bonfires Any bonfires built by people on fields and parks will be taken away. This is done to protect people from serious danger as often people put in dangerous things like tyres and gas cylinders, which give off nasty gasses and could explode. By removing these bonfires Safer Swansea is saving lives. If you see a dangerous bonfire being built call 01792 562852.
Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Autumn 2009
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr
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Cress heads Some of you were lucky enough to come to our event this summer and make ‘cress heads’ - why not have a go yourselves at home? You can use any container, from egg shells to egg boxes or even old pairs of tights. We will use egg shells in this example:
Jokes What did one leaf say to the other? I’m falling for you
1) Fill your empty egg shell with cotton wool, toilet paper or saw dust. 2) Decorate the egg shells with faces using felt tip pens, paints or by sticking things onto them 3) Sprinkle some cress seeds on top and water well. 4) Keep well watered and your cress head ‘hair’ will start to grow in a few days. Yum Yum!
Colour in the Pumpkin
What do you call a woman with a sheep on her head ? Baa-Baa-Ra ! What do you get if you cross a bear with a freezer ? Teddy brrrrr !
Junior Park Rangers Club City and County of Swansea, Parks Development Team, Room 211, Penllergaer Offices, Penllergaer, Swansea, SA4 9GJ
If you require this newsletter in another format please contact Marketing Services on 01792 635478.
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr
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All details correct at time of going to print
Junior Park Rangers Newsletter Autumn 2009
www.swansea.gov.uk/jpr
22615-09 Designprint
01792 635485 juniorparkrangers@swansea.gov.uk