Blue Tit Chicks in the Nestbox

Well those 10 little eggs have now hatched out into Blue Tit chicks. We've only definitely counted 8 chicks but the camera is slightly off centre and their may be another two hidden. Also it's a bit crowded in the nest anyway and some chicks end up under the others.

When they were first hatched they were entirely without feathers and looked like little redskinned aliens. They're now fluffing up nicely and their feathers are growing well. The stronger chicks are taking turns to practice flapping their stumpy little wings when they manage to get to the top of the pile.

When they hear Mum or Dad approach they all start squawking loudly with their beaks open hoping to get fed. With lots of hungry mouths to feed the parents are returning every 2 or 3 minutes with food.

No doubt by next week some of the chicks will be getting ready to fledge. The school children with us at the moment are enjoying watching the live video footage from the nestbox in the laboratory when they are doing their stream study activity session. There is audio too so they get to hear the chicks cheeping as well. Unfortunately it's not easy to take good photos of a television image so these pictures don't do it justice. You have to be here!

DFSC Neighbours Open Day

 Yesterday we had an Open Day for our neighbours in Parkend. We had put invites into the letter boxes of over 165 houses in the village and had about 50 people come and take part. We started with an introduction and talk about what we do and then split into two groups to do a tour of the Centre Grounds and to discuss possible ideas for community use of our proposed classroom redevelopment (more about this in future Blog Posts)

 After that people were then keen to have a go at some of the activities for themselves. We had a keen queue for the Zip wire with children from aged 4 through to adults and a wheelchair user all going down.

 We use a slightly different system for wheelchair users whereby they are winched onto the zip wire and then pulled back up into the tree for lauch. Our wheelchair using zip wire enthusiast enjoyed himself so much he had 5 goes!

There was plenty for all to see while waiting a turn or even if they didn't participate themselves. Activities such as the Leap of Faith (Trapeze Jump) make great spectator sport. We were particularly impressed by one plucky 5 year old local girl who as well as reaching the top of the climbing tower was also our youngest ever participant to make it on to the Leap of Faith Platform and jump for the Trapeze Bar!

 We charged a nominal £1 a go and through this raised £33 for Parkend Primary School in the village to put towards buying something for their play equipment.

 As well as 'adventure activities' we also had children stream and pond dipping and looking at their catch under microscopes in the Lab. There was also a fair bit of interest in viewing the live camera feed from one of our nestboxes where a blue tit is presently sitting on 10 eggs. 

 We'll keep you posted how things develop with our blue tit family and how many chicks are raised.

All in all a very sucessful day and one that was hopefully very much enjoyed by our guests, some of whom although living in the village all their lives hadn't really realised what we do.

Royal Wedding Celebration Lunch

Well we didn't quite organise a street party but we did have a special Royal Wedding party lunch for our resident school group last week. Complete with bunting, table decorations, Royal Wedding Posters, Union Jack serviettes and party food. This was all Jane's idea - any excuse for a party. She did however decline when I asked her to lead on singing the national anthem! Much enjoyed by all staff and students.



New Microscopes for Stream Study

Our Stream Study activity session has always been a high quality scientific learning experience. It also has two intrinsically motivating aspects that particularly enthuse the students - catching things in the stream (occassionally they even catch fish!) and then looking at them under the microscopes and seeing their intenstines etc. moving around magnified 20x's.

They start by watching a short DVD of a HTV news report from several years back that tells of how the stream was once polluted by chemical waste being illegally dumped in the lake upstream killing off all the wildlife. Their investigation is to see if the stream has recovered. Fortunately it has and we don't send them into a toxic wasteland!

 Having collected a variety of creatures from the stream  they return to the Lab to find out what they are called and look at them under a microscope. A flow chart identifies the various fresh water shrimps, caddis larvae and mayfly nypmhs etc. and then a water quality sheet scores each animal for water quality. Some like a Rat-tailed maggot can survive in fairly polluted water and only score 1/2 out of 10 for water quality, whereas a Sonefly Nymph scores 10/10 as it it very intollerant to any pollution.

We have just put into service some brand new monocular style microscopes that are easier particularly for younger children to operate. There's 12 of them so each student has their own to use and doesn't need to wait a turn.

NB Just in case you were worried...hopefully no animals are harmed during this activity! They can survive out of water under a microscope for quite some time and then at the end of the session they are returned to the stream. Some of them have probably been viewed more than once and are getting used to it by now.

Our Disabled Suite is Finished

Work has just been completed on our new disabled suite. The usual arrangement of the accommodation will be to have one wheelchair user and up to two of their friends accommadated in a purpose built disabled room with direct access to an accessible ensuite bathroom and direct fire exit from the bedroom. Just next door is a carers/teachers room which also has direct access to the bathroom. If required we could accommodate up to four wheelchair users at a time in the two bedrooms.

We've Got 5 STARS For Catering!

We've just had our kitchen and catering arrangements inspected by the Food and Safety Officer for The Forest of Dean District Council and been given a maximum 5 STAR rating. This is equivalent to the definition Excellent!

It is part of the Gloucestershire Food Hygiene Rating Scheme based on elements of the inspection rating scheme in the Food Standards Agency's Code of Practice. This is a National Scheme and you will be able to see us on the Scores on the Doors website with our 5 STAR rating using the following link.

Only around 10% of establishments (mostly hotels, restaurants, pubs etc.) reach a 5 STAR rating. It is testament to the high standards and professionalism of our kitchen staff that we met the exacting standards of the inspection and attained this high accolade.

You already knew that Jane, Karen and Denise in the kitchen were the friendliest and most helpful cooks you're ever likely to meet. You now know that they've made us a 5 STAR catering establishment as well! Well done to them for reaching such a high standard.

Shower Refurb' Completed

 

As you can see we now have nice new shower cubicles on the first floor! We've made the whole of the Shower Room floor a wet room with the floor draining to shared drainage points. No more stepping out of a shower tray and creating a puddle. The non-slip altro marine flooring is profiled to drain water away quickly and the whole area is much easier to clean as well.

We've also finished painting the entire top floor & also the area known as 'The Flat' - 3 extra bedrooms that create a useful extra residential area for larger groups. The picture above is Karen painting the staff bathroom in the flat.