Establish and Maintain Nature Reserves and Educate in Natural History and Nature Conservation

Get Involved

Children’s Seasonal Nature Activities

Discover, Learn and Explore

divider-dark-green

Nature is always changing – and every season brings new things to see, hear and do!
These activities help children explore local wildlife, learn new words and ideas and take action to help nature in our community.

Each season includes:

One Outdoor Activity

To explore or take action locally...

One Indoor Activity

To reinforce learning...

Local Walk Suggestions

To see nature in real life...

Links to Trusted Organisations

For more free resources...

hedgehog

Theme

Where do our wild friends go in winter? Learn about hibernation and how animals survive the cold.

Outdoor Activity: Make a Hedgehog Home

  • Build or buy a hedgehog hibernation box and place it in a quiet corner of your garden.
  • Add dry leaves or straw (not hay) to keep it cosy.
  • Check that your garden fences have small 13cm holes – these make a “Hedgehog Highway” so hedgehogs can travel safely.
  • Record your sightings or work with neighbours to make a street survey!

Learn how at the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

Indoor Activity: Hibernation Quiz & Word Hunt

  • Learn new words: hibernate, torpor, nocturnal, mammal.
  • Create your own quiz about which animals hibernate, or download a word search from Wildlife Watch.
  • Draw or write about where different animals sleep – a hedgehog under leaves, a bat in a cave, a frog in the mud.

Local Walk:

Visit Congresbury Moor on a crisp winter’s day. Look for piles of leaves or log stacks – perfect hedgehog hideaways.

blue-tit

Theme

The world wakes up! Birds sing, frogs spawn and flowers bloom.

Outdoor Activity: Bird Spotting and Nest Box Check

  • Take a walk along the Strawberry Line.
  • Listen for robins, blackbirds and blue tits.
  • Bring a notebook – can you identify five different birds?

Try the RSPB Birdsong Identifier on their website to help you learn their songs.

Indoor Activity: Build a Bird ID Guide

  • Make your own guide using drawings or magazine cut-outs.
  • Write each bird’s name, colour, food and nesting place.
  • Print colouring sheets or ID charts from the RSPB’s family activities.

Local Walk:

Early morning on the Strawberry Line is perfect for spotting spring birds. Keep your eyes peeled for information on our Spring bird walks – everyone is welcome.

Build a Mini Pond

A small garden pond, even the size of a washing-up bowl, can become a home for amazing wildlife. Fill it with rainwater, add a few stones and a shallow edge so creatures can climb in and out, and see what appears! You might spot frogs, newts, dragonflies, and birds coming to drink. It’s a simple way to help nature – and to learn who shares your garden.

Theme

Pollinators are busy helping flowers grow. Let’s meet them and make them a home!

Outdoor Activity: Create a Mini Meadow or Bug Hotel

  • Choose a sunny patch of grass and scatter wildflower seeds such as red clover or knapweed.
  • Or build a bug hotel from bamboo canes, logs, and old bricks.
  • Watch which insects arrive! Keep a “bug diary” and draw what you see.

Find guides from Buglife and The Wildlife Trusts.

Indoor Activity: Pollinator Puzzle

  • Match pollinators to the plants they help – bee → clover, butterfly → buddleia, hoverfly → cow parsley.
  • Talk about why pollinators are vital for food and flowers.
  • You can even make a paper “pollination chain” showing how pollen moves from flower to flower.

Local Walk:

Visit Cadbury Hill, Hangstones or Stowey Road in Yatton. to spot butterflies and bees in action.

Evening Visitors – Watch for Bats!

Bats are very common around Yatton and Congresbury, especially near hedgerows and ponds. On warm evenings, look up in your garden or local green space to see them swooping for insects. You can even count how many you spot and try to identify which kind they might be — pipistrelles are the smallest and most common, and often fly in quick, darting loops at dusk.

More infomation on bats can be found at Bat Conservation Trust.

Theme

Nature is getting ready for winter. Birds travel, seeds fall and animals gather food.

Outdoor Activity: Seed Hunt and Squirrel Survey

  • Collect acorns, conkers and sycamore “helicopters” on your walk.
  • Look for squirrels and jays hiding food for winter.
  • Plant some seeds in a pot to see which germinate in spring.
  • If you have a nest box, clean it out safely and get it ready for new chicks.

Indoor Activity: Migration Map

  • Draw a world map and show where our birds go in winter – swallows fly all the way to Africa!
  • Use information from RSPB Migration Resources to follow their journey.

Local Walk:

Try the River Yeo path – perfect for spotting autumn berries and birds on the move.

Learn More and Get Involved

divider-dark-green

YACWAG encourages children and families to learn about local wildlife and care for the habitats around us.

YACWAG also runs a variety of family friendly walks and events, so check the Events Calendar to see what’s coming up and hope to see you at a future event.

Events Calendar
Contact Us

These trusted organisations offer excellent free downloads, games and identification sheets:

Every Small Action Helps

divider-dark-green

By exploring nature through the seasons, children learn to love and protect it – right here in our own local countryside.

YACWAG works with local schools and youth groups to deliver locally-focused learning and activities. If you want to find out more or get us involved in a project within your school or youth group drop us a line via our Contact Us page.