The Oaks Federation

Outdoor Learning

Horticulture and nature

Garddwriaeth a natur

Autumn Term - Tymor yr Hydref

Year 1 children learned how to pull up onions without damaging them and where to put them for their skins to dry out for storage.

Year 1 children harvested garlic and left them in a warm, dry place to 'cure' so that they store for longer.

Year 1 children also did a check on how well our fruit trees are developing in the orchard and mulched the soil with carpet to prevent weeds.

Year 2 harvested and enjoyed the sweetcorn they had planted in the spring.

They also harvested and roasted carrots, as did Year 4. Yums!

Year 3 harvested and enjoyed their cucumbers, and while composting they came across an eight-legged friend!

Year 6 sowed spring cabbage seeds.

Year 6 also harvested and prepared glazed courgettes.

Year 1 transplanted some herbs into their final positions.

Year 3 gathered blackberries and used them to make delicious blackberry sorbet.

Year 2 transplanted herbs - horseradish, dwarf curry plant, tarragon, garlic chives - into their final positions, and learnt how our water butt conserves water.

Year 2 are learning the importance of composting.

Reception children are also learning about composting. They then sowed spring cabbage seeds ready to transplant into the newly cleared areas.

Nursery children harvested the pears in our orchard ready to make pear crumble next week.

Year 1 dug up the maincrop potatoes that last year's Year 1 sowed in March and made chips. They were delicious!

Year 2 wanted to make crispy 'seaweed' using their kale but it was covered in butterfly eggs and caterpillars, so they tasted the shop-bought version instead and discussed how best to avoid butterflies getting at the kale when we grow it again in the spring.

Reception class picked the last of the apples in our orchard and made dried apple slices, comparing them with the ones bought from the shop. Ours were nicer!

Year 5 cleared their Edible Playground bed and composted the garden waste. Then they transplanted and cloched the winter vegetable seedlings before the pigeons could eat them all!

Year 2 made quince and pear sorbet using the last of the fruit in the orchard this year. Lots of language and numeracy skills were involved. We taste it tomorrow!

Year 1 used a range of skills to sow garlic cloves ready for next summer's harvest.

Year 3 used standardised measures (centimetres) and estimates whilst working as a team to sow some winter-hardy broad beans in their Edible Playground bed.

Year 4 planted the last of the winter veg seedlings and protected them with cloches.

Reception class replanted the garlic cloves which the magpies and pigeons pulled up! If it keeps happening we'll think of some other wildlife-friendly ways of solving the problem.

Year 1 made garlic bread using the garlic we harvested in September. The school was filled with a delicious smell!

Year 2 planted up their tyres with new spring bulbs after reading the planting instructions carefully.

Year 2 tasted the quince and pear sorbet they made before Half Term, together with the last of this year's blackberry sorbet. All the fruit is from our own orchard and hedgerows.

Year 3 worked as a team to re-sow the bed where pigeons and magpies had pulled up the broad bean seedlings and then covered the bed with protective netting.

Year 5 dismantled cane supports and cleared beds ready for the winter.

Reception class planted out the very last of our winter and spring greens and put cloches over them to protect them from the pigeons.

Nursery picked medlars from the tree in our orchard, and then left them to 'blet'. They then sampled a medlar jelly cracker sandwich. The Welsh word for 'medlar' is 'tindwll'.

Year 6 harvested vegetables in our Edible Playground and other allotment areas and then prepped them for making into vegetable soup to sell in our Enterprise Fair.

Year 5 collected and stored seeds from outside (sunflowers, calendulas and hollyhocks) and some (yellow rattle) which Coed Caerdydd gave us.

Spring Term - Tymor y Gwanwyn

Year 4 planted out a conifer above the playground to provide shade on hot summer days in future years

Year 2 sowed a Christmas card! It was from Grow Cardiff, biodegradable and impregnated with flower seeds. We look forward to seeing the results in the spring.

Year 2 'furnished' the bug hotel next to our pollinator bed after learning about the importance of bees and other pollinating insects.

Year 3 sowed radish seeds by following the instructions on the packet and they answered lots of in-depth questions about the sowing and growing process.

Autumn-fruiting raspberries develop on the current year's canes, so Year 5 removed last year's wood to ground level. They learnt how to handle the loppers safely and handled them sensibly.

Year 2 sowed radish seeds and learned some important gardening vocabulary: modules, trays, trowel, compost. They learned why modules have holes in the bottom, estimated the sowing depth (13mm) and sowed their seeds independently.

Year 5 worked with Chloe and Chris from Caoed Caerdydd and planted over eight hundred bare root tree saplings in Greenway park.

Year 6 worked with Chloe and Chris from Coed Caerdydd, planting some fruit tree saplings in our lower field - apple, pear, plum and cherry.

Year 3 filled the gaps in their Edible Playground bed with more winter-hardy broad bean seeds.

Morning Nursery learned how to use a dibber to sow winter-hardy broad bean seeds in their own raised bed.

Afternoon Nursery learned how to sow cauliflower seeds in modules. The tiny seeds meant they had to be very careful and very patient. Gwaith da!

Year 1 sowed broad bean seeds in pots. They put them in the potting shed and will compare their germination and growth with those that Year3 sowed outdoors.

Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 put out their seed potatoes for chitting - they will be ready to sow in a few weeks' time. Reception have 'First earlies' and will make buttered new potatoes, and Year 1 (chips) and Year 6 (potatoes 'Dauphinoise') have 'Maincrops'.

Year 2 sowed pea seeds. They learned how starting them off indoors in the potting shed gives them a head start while we wait for warmer spring weather.

Year 4 sowed cauliflower seeds. They are a bit of a fuss to grow but the children agreed that it is good to experiment and see what happens!

Year 3 sowed lettuce seeds. We revised all the things that seeds need to grow, and thought about the reason for modules having holes at the bottom.

Year 2 sowed turnip seeds in modules, following instructions found on the seed packet. They were definitely turnips and not tomatoes.

Reception class sowed globe artichoke seeds in pots. They were shown what to do once, then carried out the entire task on their own, showing growing levels of independence in their learning.

Year 5 used the instructions on the packet and worked collaboratively to sow onion sets.

Year 3 sowed peas. They will need to hunt for pea sticks next, to support them.

Year 4 sowed tomatoes, using the sowing instructions on the packet to estimate depth. They then put them safely into the potting shed ahead of the forecast cold snap!

Year 6 sowed kohl rabi seeds - until they blew away in the wind! We'll get a replacement packet next week.

Year 6 sowed celeriac seeds. We couldn't believe how such tiny seeds grow into such huge vegetables.

Some of our keenest Year 6 gardeners are showing growing levels of independence and responsibility, caring for our seed trays and seedlings.

Reception class sowed tomato seeds and learned a new word: 'dibber'.

Year 3 sowed purple sprouting broccoli and cabbage seeds today. The caterpillars have booked a table and are rubbing their little hands together in anticipation!

Nursery watched a programme about how to grow carrots, taste-tested some roasted carrots and then sowed their own.

Nursery watched a programme about how potatoes are grown and crisps are made. They then made and sampled some homemade crisps before doing some potato printing and planting out the potatoes that have been chitting on their windowsill.

Tymor yr Haf

Some activities in the weeks following Easter, including: sowing chitted potatoes; planting out tomato, pea and lettuce seedlings; sowing kohlrabi, carrot, runner bean and leek seeds; reseeding the Year 1/2 pollinator bed; and harvesting leeks and radishes

Year 2 transplanted runner beans into their allotment patch and sowed carrot, leek and parsnip seeds. They also transplanted sweetcorn and tomatoes into the Edible Playground beds.