Super Bloggers

Launching our brand new Super Bloggers Competition!

This week has seen the launch of our exciting new ‘Super Bloggers’ competition, which is open to all pupils who come and enjoy an educational visit with us here at Holkham. The challenge we are setting you is to come armed with your best blogger’s notebook & camera, so that you can take down all the details of your fantastic day here and capture the best moments on film, ready to write your prize-winning ‘Super Blog’!

Blogs should include a detailed description of everything you did while you were here - what you enjoyed most, new things you learnt and new experiences you had. You can choose the style you write in to make your readers really enjoy and remember your blog. Your articles can also include photos, diagrams, facts, quotes and funny stories. Individual or group blog posts are welcome too.

The Top 3 blogs from your school will each win a special ‘Holkham Super Blogger’ certificate and the blog judged by our Education Team to be the overall winner for your school will be published online, here on our Holkham Education Blog!

Also, the best individual Super Blog from all schools each half-term will receive a FREE FAMILY TICKET to Holkham Hall and Park.

For more information please contact the Education Team – education@holkham.co.uk or 01328 713112

Seaside Fun

Seashore ‘treasure’ sorting

On Tuesday, 20 Key Stage 1 pupils from St Andrew’s Primary School visited us for a day of beach and woodland activities at a very blustery Wells. The air was heavy and the skies very moody as the excited children arrived. Sure enough, within seconds the rain was hammering down – not beach weather at all! Quickly, the black clouds had cleared and the sun shone brightly down on us.

Pupils split into groups and were challenged to find as many things from the strandline scavenge list as possible. Before long buckets were filling up with shells, seaweed, driftwood and dead crabs. After lunch fortresses of all designs were built and decorated with treasure, moats had been dug and each work of art signed in the sand by our budding artists and architects. Despite the weather these children (and, it has to be said, their accompanying grown-ups) were made of tough stuff! Not a murmur of complaint was heard all day as they well truly immersed themselves into their seaside topic.



Luxurious bug house

On Wednesday & Thursday the Reception Class of Wells Primary School came to Holkham Park to explore the woods as part of their topic Science Lab. They went on a treasure hunt, looked for mini-beasts and learnt lots of interesting facts about them – did you know a worm can live for up to 10 years and it doesn’t have eyes? It moves round by feeling its way with lots of micro hairs on its body!! We then made some (luxury) bug houses to put our mini-beasts in.  One had a swimming pool made from a puddle of water caught in the tree, a trampoline made from spongy moss and the fine example shown in the photo a garden complete with a tent, camp fire, pond with ducks and a table and chairs!

Michaela & Will Education Coordinators

Park Life

Fallow Deer and the Monument

Last week pupils and staff from St. Nicholas Preparatory School in North Walsham visited us for a full day of challenging field work. The Year 5 & 6 pupils began with a morning of Team Challenge - team building exercises in our woodland area. Teams battled it out, crossing ‘Toxic Swamps’, limboing blindfolded under ‘Electric Fences’ and solving the mystery of the ‘Magic Cane’. Great fun was had and the children made super progress throughout the morning, strengthening their resilience, leadership and problem-solving skills.

In the afternoon the group used OS maps and learnt about the different symbols used to indicate positions of important landmarks and geographical features. They honed their compass and map reading skills, investigated grid references and finally mapped their own key features of Holkham park – including the mandatory deer!



Pond dipping tray

As the weather is warming up, so life underwater is beginning to get very busy. The lifecycles of our countless aquatic creatures in Holkham lake are now speeding up as everything awakens from its winter slumber. Testing the waters in readiness for this year’s first school pond dipping visitors (not because we love pond dipping ourselves!), our Education Team found a good amount of activity in the shape of masses of Water Fleas, several Mayfly Nymphs, some Meniscus Midge Larvae and a Freshwater Hoglouse. Soon we’ll have Water Boatmen, Dragonfly Nymphs and the amazing Cased Caddis Fly Larvae to get excited about. This activity is always one of our most popular and can be differentiated for all year groups and levels. Book up and come dipping!


Sue Penlington, Education Officer

Sunshine continues...

Identifying weeds

Mr Fisher and his green-fingered class from Burnham Market Primary School spent a gloriously sunny day working extremely hard in the Walled Gardens. Two gigantic pumpkin pits were dug, ready for filling with lovely manure. The children will then attempt to grow some truly world record breaking pumpkins from seeds specially sourced by Dene, our Head of Parks and Gardens. As well as lots of important weeding, the pupils also riddled an enormous amount of top soil (two trailer loads!) which Dene took off to the soil steriliser. This will all be sterilised, to get rid of any unwanted pests or bacteria, and will then be used for potting on this year’s tomatoes.

After a well-earned lunch and drinks break, the children learnt about the newly planted vineyard, had a guided tour of the glasshouses to see the plants they will be using in the winning flower bed designs this year and collected, sniffed and sampled an array of delicious herbs from the herb garden.

Salts Hole saline lagoon overlooking the grazing marsh and reed bed

With yet more sunshine blazing down on Holkham, the guided walk on the nature reserve proved very popular and extremely rewarding. The beautiful Barn Owl that entertained us at the meeting point was a good omen as the birds and butterflies enjoyed entertaining us every step along the way. Temperatures have risen and been maintained sufficiently for Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood and Brimstone butterflies to all be on the wing, as well as a vibrant Cinnabar moth. Raptors were also out in numbers, with a single Red Kite, numerous Marsh Harriers and Buzzards and a determined Kestrel all seen.

The Spring migrants have also arrived in numbers, with multiple Chiff Chaff, Willow Warblers, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat all active and vocal. A Grasshopper Warbler was heard reeling loudly by the George Washington hide – but, as so often is the case, remained completely hidden from view. Another highlight was several of Holkham’s fantastic Spoonbills, seen keeping company with the Cormorants, Avocets and Shelduck. We finished the walk with a stroll along the beach, which looked as stunning as ever. For more information on our monthly Guided Walks please click here

Will Clennell, Education Coordinator

Spring visits

Holkham Lake

Last week the giant Easter bunnies and painted eggs were replaced with visiting school groups as the summer term started full swing. Docking Primary School brought their whole school (120 students) to explore our woodland area and investigate the wildlife around the lake as part of their science topic. They had a fantastic visit including making mini-dens, hunting for all sorts of minibeasts and learning the tricky art of identifying trees without their leaves on.

Household chores

Whilst waiting outside Holkham Hall for Holly Meadows Primary School to arrive I saw my first swallows of the year. Amazingly they looked fresh and full of energy, despite flying from South Africa – the swallows that is, the students came by coach from Pott Row near King's Lynn. We had lots of fun exploring the Hall and after all the chores were completed in our Victorian kitchen, the group headed to our newly extended woodland play area to run off some steam. In the afternoon sunshine we played with lots of different toys and games from the Victorian era including skipping, hula hoops, cup and balls, marbles and yo-yos.

Sue Penlington, Education Officer

Our farming story

 

Fendt 828 with dual wheels, used by our farming team

Excitingly we have expanded our school visits programme to include trailer tours and den building as we continue to reconnect our youngsters in the natural environment around them. Given Holkham’s agricultural heritage it will be a privilege to share our farming story with visiting school groups. Plus I do have a personal fascination with large machinery! 

There’s quite a lot of variety to my role and that’s an element of my job which I really enjoy  – hopefully reading this blog will give you a snapshot of our work throughout the year. On one day I might be leading a group of primary school children on an interactive session in Holkham Hall and the next I can be leading a group of adults on a guided walk on the National Nature Reserve. Which do I prefer to do? You’ll have to follow my posts and see if you can work it out!

Holkham is beginning to spring into life

 

Snowdrops in the Walled Garden

Easter is a lovely time of year for us, our seasonal staff team return as do our visitors, the dark winter nights are a distant memory and Holkham goes into gear. The overwintering pink footed geese, which have provided the sound track to winter and spectacles in the skies, will be replaced with graceful, elegant swallows and house martins. The woodland adventure play area will again be filled with happy children letting off steam and we're really excited this year that we have extended it to include a specific area for our youngest visitors with their own toddler area. Daffodils, tulips, snowdrops and alliums will emerge in the walled gardens planted by local school children from Burnham Market and Wells and it’s fantastic to see their faces as they are surprised at quite where they planted them!