Welcome to the eleventh instalment of our home-learning resources. This week’s topic is all about wildlife-friendly gardens and the Wildlife Fact file covers the Pied Wagtail. Do you remember our water-friendly gardening topic from week seven? Don’t worry if not, we have included all the information again here as well as some more tips to help you be more wildlife-friendly in your garden.

We have introduced these online learning opportunities in response to Covid-19, which has prevented us from going into schools in the Ribble Catchment as we normally would. This is our way of bringing our educational topics to you at home so you can continue to learn all about rivers and wildlife. Each week we will be providing a new main topic, a Wildlife Fact file and a quiz.

Wildlife-friendly gardens

The Prezi below is about water friendly gardening and how you can benefit rivers and freshwater habitats by what choices you make in your garden.

There are plenty of ways you can make your garden more wildlife friendly as well!

• Offering a water source is one of the bet ways of attracting wildlife to any garden. Everyone from frogs and newts to birds, hedgehogs, bats and bees will all appreciate this. A source of water is especially important when temperatures get below 0°C and water becomes difficult to find. If your garden is not big enough for a pond, you can still use an old bucket, sink or bath filled with water. Use stones and logs to make some sloping sides and remember to add some native oxygenating plants!
• Even if you have the most amazing garden in the world for wildlife, our wild friends may not be able to get in unless you provide a way. To do this you could cut a hole in the bottom of your garden fence, or maybe replace the fence with a native hedgerow. This means that low-lying creatures such as toads and hedgehogs can access your wonderful garden space.
• Providing a home or habitat for wildlife is another great way to improve your garden. Try building a bird box, or a bat box or maybe even an owl box! What about a hedgehog house, a bug hotel, a bee house or a rock garden too?
• Don’t forget to fill up your bird feeders or make your own fat balls using lard, seeds and nuts. You can encourage butterflies and bees to visit your garden too by planting pollen and nectar rich plants such as lavender and marigolds.

Click here to go to the Countryfile website for more ideas of how to transform your garden into a haven for birds, bees, butterflies and pollinating insects!

Wildlife Fact file

This week’s Wildlife Fact file is about the Pied Wagtail. Read the fact file below or click to open the pdf.

QUIZ

1. What can you add to your garden to instantly attract more wildlife?
   1. A water source
   2. A garden gate
   3. Wind chimes
   4. Sprinklers

2. What colour is the Pied Wagtail?
   1. Brown and white
   2. Blue and copper
   3. Black and white
   4. Grey and brown

3. How can you provide easy access to your garden for wildlife?
   1. Build tunnels underground
   2. Add a hole in the bottom of the fence or replace fence with a hedge
   3. Put up signs for the wildlife to find its way
   4. Build bridges over fences

4. How many wagtail species can be found in the UK?
   1. 1
   2. 2
   3. 3
   4. 4

5. Some gardens are too small to attract wildlife
   1. True
   2. False

6. What is the most likely reason for a wagtail pumping its tail?
   1. Fanning themselves when it is hot
   2. Looking for food
   3. Communicating with other wagtails
   4. To show that they are alert

7. Which of these is NOT something you should do to encourage wildlife into your garden?
   1. Introduce invasive species
   2. Start a compost heap
   3. Make a rock garden
   4. Leave wood in a shady spot

8. What is the average lifespan of the Pied Wagtail?
   1. 1 year
   2. 2 years
   3. 3years
   4. 4 years

9. Which of these is an easy way to create a bug hotel?
   1. Creating a five-storey bug mansion
   2. Invite bugs into your house
   3. Drilling holes in logs
   4. Offering food and water

10. What time of year can Pied Wagtails be seen in the UK?
    1. January – March
    2. March – September
    3. October – December
    4. All year round

Click here for the answers