Campfires are a great thing to do when the weather gets colder.

Anyone who has built a campfire knows that they have the capacity to bring people together and make us feel more connected to the natural world. People tend to find something fascinating about flames and glowing coals, so a campfire is usually a pleasant and warm way to pass the time from dusk to bedtime. Children love the magic of a campfire as they stare into the flames and imagine. Campfires are great places for cooking, storytelling and singing songs. We all know that a campfire is great for roasting marshmallows on sticks.

We found it best to plan ahead so we could really enjoy the magic of building a campfire. It is always good to have someone who has experience in making a fire with you, we had Simon who is an experienced camper with lots of fire making experience in the wild. We also gave ourselves plenty of time. Before we built our fire the children went for a bush walk with Simon to collect kindling and wood for the fire.

We then built the fire, made up our damper and then cooked it on the fire and served it with some billy tea.

Below you will find information on

• A recipe for damper
• A recipe for billy tea.
• How to build a campfire (which you never do without adult supervision)

Damper recipe

Damper is traditionally an Australian unleavened bread baked in the hot coals of a campfire. The dough is wrapped around a stick and cooked or put into an iron pot and buried in the hot coals.

The bread is called damper because the fire is damped to allow the bread to be cooked over the ash covered hot coals.

During colonial times it was a staple food in the bush because the dry ingredients could be easily carried and they only needed to add water to make the damper. (The original version had no sugar or butter and used water instead of milk.)

What you will need

• 2 cups of self raising flour
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 to 1 ½ cups of milk
• 2 teaspoons of butter
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• Extra flour as needed
• Some medium sized sticks collected from the bush
• An iron pot in case you don’t want to use sticks or it takes too long

What to do

• Mix the flour, salt and sugar together into a bowl.
• Cut in the butter until fine crumbs form.
• Add milk slowly and mix to form a soft dough.
• Knead lightly on a floured board until smooth.
• Shape into a round loaf, brush with milk and cut a cross in the
  top surface of the dough.
• Cut into moderately thick slices and serve while still warm. Top with butter, golden syrup, or your favourite jam.

A quick and easy method the drovers in the outback used to make damper is to wrap the dough around a stick to toast it over the coals. Fill the hole where the stick was with butter, golden syrup or jam.

Billy tea

Making Billy Tea is one of those legendary pastimes where every bushy has his own method and style and fiercely disputes the quality of any tea made by any other bushy

What you need

• Tea, Australian grown of course
• Sugar as needed
• Milk as needed
• Water
• “Billy Can”, make your own or buy one
• Forked stick

What you do

• Wait for some coals of the fire - ie when the wood has burnt down a bit.
• Put the Billy on.
• When boiling, throw in a single fistful of tea for each person and then throw one in for the pot.
• Leave on heat for another minute then pull away from coals using the forked stick on the handle to lift.
• However if you just let it sit for a minute or two and then pour carefully you still get a good cuppa.
• Use a tea strainer to remove the tea leaves and then serve the way you like it black or with milk and/or sugar.

Nothing like a good tin mug of billy tea to start the day, and served with some damper - mmmm yum!

Building a campfire

What to do:

(must be under adult supervision someone 21years and older):

• Find a good spot to build your campfire.  We organised to build ours on a friends property in Warrandyte and we asked their permission first
• Build the fire directly on mineral soil surrounded by an open area of bare ground with no exposed plants and roots and build a fire ring.  Dig a pit away from overhanging branches. Circle the pit with rocks. Clear a 5 foot area around the pit down to the soil.
• Stack extra wood upwind and away from fire.
• Make sure you have a shovel and plenty of water nearby or sand. An additional safety measure is to have sand and water on hand to smother and douse the fire if it does get out of the fire pit. It is wise to gather these materials before they are actually needed.
• Only use dead wood collected from the ground.
• Keep the fire as small as possible
• Lighting the fire - Place dry kindling and small dry sticks in an a shaped frame in the centre of the pit. Place slightly larger sticks in top. Keep dry kindling nearby and bigger sticks for when the fire catches. Light the kindling with a match. Once the large kindling is burning, all of the kindling should be put on the fire and then add the bigger branches or logs as needed to keep it going.
• If the kindling does not catch fire, it could be because the wood is wet, the weather is too wet there is too much wind or  there is a lack of oxygen.Blow a bit on the small flames to get the fire going.  Make sure an adult does this.
• After lighting, do not discard match until cold.
• Make sure you extinguish the fire properly when you have finished with it. To properly cool a fire, water should be splashed on all the embers, including places that are not glowing red. The water should be poured until the hissing noises stop.  Then the ashes should be stirred with a stick to make sure that the water has penetrated all the layers; if the hissing continues, more water should be added. A fire is fully extinguished if the ashes are cool to the touch.  If water is scarce, sand may be used. The sand will deprive the fire of oxygen quite well, but it is much less effective than water at absorbing heat. Once the fire has been covered thoroughly with sand, all water that can be spared should be poured on it, and the sand stirred into the ash.
• If you are in a wilderness area, make sure you replace anything that was moved while preparing the fire site, and scatter anything that was gathered, returning it to its natural way you found it

Some don’ts

• Don’t build your fire in the wild
• Never build a fire during dry periods or when its windy, because the fire can spread quickly and out of control and the bush being dry will catch fire easier
• Don’t leave the fire unattended
• No fire should be lit close to trees, tents or other fire hazards. This includes overhanging branches; some carry dead, dry material that can ignite from a single airborne ember.
• Fires also should not be lit on bare rocks. The ash will leave a black stain that cannot be easily removed, but the fire’s heat can lead to more dramatic consequences. It will cause the outer layer of the rock to expand, possibly causing it to crack. It may also boil pockets of water contained in the rock.

Autumn is a great time of year as nature puts on a splendid display of colour.  Autumn is that time of year when certain trees, called deciduous, loose their leaves.  When the days get shorter and there is less light,  thats how the trees know its time to shed their leaves.

All through the summer these trees make food to store in their trunks and roots for the winter.

In autumn the weather gets a bit colder as its the season leading up to winter - but its a great time to get outdoors.

We went out to play in the leaves and make some magic carpets.

Magic carpets

Find a park or forest where the ground is fairly flat.  Each child can mark of the area they would like to make a magic carpet in, sometimes they can work in pairs if they like.  They can frame their magic carpet with larger sticks - there is no limit to the size - it can be as big or small as they imagine.

All around them during this time of year there will be loads of leaves, seed pods, bark and other natural materials that they can use to decorate their magic carpet with.

You can use berries and leves to make a face, animals or a intricate and detailed carpet.

Then use your imagination top dream of flying off to some faraway land.

Playing with leaves

During autumn there is an abundance of leaves lying on the ground creating a soft blanket.  The children made a big pile of leaves then jumped in them, they threw leaves at each other and even buried each other.

You can even play hide and seek.  Taking turns to hide in the leaves.

Two of the children just lay down on a picnic rug under a big tree and let the leaves fall on and around them, they felt they were in their own magic world.

Gathering special leaves

Children enjoy searching for special leaves. Send them off on a scavenger hunt where they need to find special shaped leaves.  When they return they can discuss their leaf and why its special.

You could even mix them all up and then they have to identify theirs.

This game encourages the children to look more closely at leaves and appreciate the diversity and intricacies found in them.

Did you know: If you catch a leaf as it falls from the tree ( before it touches the ground), you will have one years good luck!

In this weeks outdoor adventure, we visited West Prosperity Walnuts at Toolamba in the Goulburn Valley. It was harvest time and especially exciting as it was the first harvest for this particular orchard. The Maloney McCall family ( Daryl, Stacey and their five daughters), had planted walnut seeds just over seven years ago and their trees had finally matured to a stage where they are now producing a good crop of nuts!

The kids loved picking the walnuts, choosing the ripe ones to throw into their buckets. A fresh walnut tastes almost sweet so the kids also enjoyed cracking some open and eating them.

It was great for the children to learn about how a crop grows, when it is time to pick it, what happens to a particular tree as it matures and starts to produce fruit or nuts. These days everything is so available all year around that we have all lost touch with the cycles of the seasons and their effect on agriculture and the food we eat.

Children love building cubbies. Pulling all the cushions off the couch and draping sheets and towels over furniture, creating their own space.

Building cubbies outdoors creates a different sense of excitement about it as you are left to the elements. Building cubbies outdoors also means you have a bigger space to play in and that you need to find materials from nature to build your cubby.

The Australian bush offers a lot of interesting places to build a cubby.

Choosing a site:

• - you can choose your backgarden, a local park or venture even further into nature parks and reserves
• - choose a site where there is plenty of dead wood that you can use - its best not to pull and break off any branches - we are lucky in Australia because the indigenous trees often drop their branches and bark - so there should be plenty of logs and wood lying on the ground which you can use.
• - try to find a place where the ground is relatively bare as you do not want to distrurb some creatures home or stamp on some plants.
• - avoid places which can get wet quite easily if it rains
• - finding a natural feature which you can use as a starting point is always good - like a fallen big trunk or a big branch jutting out from a tree.

Building your bush cubbie

• - Its best to start with constructing the big frame which you will place other logs and branches on. This is best done with an adult or older sibling/family member. Its important your base structure is strong and reliable.
• - Collect long branches and tie them together of rest them together - the one we constructed we were able to just rest the logs on the branch.
• - gather long logs and place them next to each other to create the covering
• - you can then gather smaller branches of leaves to place over the logs adn bracnhes to create even more cover
• - you can even weave smaller sticks and twigs through the frame
• - and you can finish with moss and bark adn bigger leaves - depending on what is around you in the bush

The finishing touches

- you can make a little path and doorway

- if you like you can clear out the ground inside your cubby and add little stools and chairs made of logs and rocks

- why not build a soft place to rest with leaf litter

- some bush flowers might be nice

Then once you have built your shelter, let your imagination run free!

Create a fantasy world filled with unusual creatures, you are on a farm in a faraway land - You are a knight in a Kings army - surviving in the wilderness - you are a runaway.

By building their own boats out of natural materials found near a river, children can explore and interact with rivers in a different way. The can use their boat to see the difference in speed of a river, to see where the current of the river is flowing - what obstacles are in the river.
It’s a fun way to also work out what materials can float.

We visited a river near us to have some fun. We wanted to see if the boats we had made could float.

We launched them. They started to float down the river

It seemed that everybodies boats were floating - we were pleased.

Some of us tried to hurry ours along - we had a bit of a race. We watched our boats to see if they could make their way around obstacles. Could they survive waterfalls? How far can they go?

Zack decided to put a little sign on his which asked that whoever might find it would let us know where they found it so we could track how far it had traveled and then maybe we could try and work out how it got there.

I wonder where Zack’s boat is now?

Go to our craft section to find out some ideas on how to make your own boat.

• A bit about rivers
• Importance of rivers
• Pollution of Rivers
• The Murray Darling River System

Imagine the storys that rivers carry with them. Stories of all the places they have flowed through. Rivers can start from a spring, a lake even from the melting of a glacier or from a high mountain top.

Most rivers flow on the surface and they always flow downwards.

Rivers that flow very quickly are called youthful and they flow deep rather than wide. A mature river is one that flows more slowly. The rivers with rapids and even waterfalls are used as a source of energy.

People have always lived near rivers, throughout history people have built villages, towns and then cities near a river.

This is because rivers provide many things drinking water, energy, food, a means for transport and a place to dispose waste.

In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Usually larger streams are called rivers while smaller streams are called creeks, brooks, rivulets, rills, and many other terms, but there is no general rule that defines what can be called a river.Importance of rivers

Rivers have been used as a source of water, for food, for transport, as a source of power to drive machinery, and as a means of disposing of waste.

For thousands of years rivers have been used for navigation. River navigation provides the cheapest means of transport and is still used extensively on major rivers of the world like the Ganges and the Nile.

Rivers have been a source of food since pre-history. Apart from being a rich source of fish, rivers indirectly aid cultivation by supplying water for the crops. They are a major source of fresh water, hence, it is no surprise to find most of the major cities of the world situated on the banks of rivers. Rivers also provide an easy means of disposing of waste.

The rocks and gravel generated and moved by rivers are used in construction. The beauty of rivers and their surroundings contributes to tourist income.

Rapids are often used for recreational purposes. Fast flowing rivers and waterfalls are harnessed as sources of energy, via watermills and hydroelectric plants

Pollution of Rivers.

Rivers and the surrounding land drained by them (catchments) are very important wildlife habitats. The water itself provides the environment for fish, plants and animals, while the banks and nearby land support other creatures and a variety of water-loving plants.

There are several sources of water pollution which work together to reduce overall river water quality. Industry and agriculture discharge liquid waste products. Rain as it falls through the air, or drains from urban areas and farmland, absorbs contaminants.

Acid rain

Rain falling through polluted air absorbs some of the pollutants as it falls.

Industrial pollution

Many industrial wastes discharged into water are mixtures of chemicals which are difficult to treat. Some industrial wastes are so toxic that they are strictly controlled, making them an expensive problem to deal with. Some companies try to cut the costs of safely dealing with waste by illegally dumping chemicals at times and in places where they think they will not be caught.

Agricultural pollution

When organic farm wastes like silage or liquid manure (slurry) escape into rivers, the amount of oxygen in the water is reduced.

Nitrate pollution problems occur when too much chemical fertiliser is applied to the land. The excess runs off and can find its way into drinking water sources, or can trickle into rivers and lakes.

Other sources of water pollution

• Abandoned mines produce a large quantity of polluting chemicals. Many dangerous metals including iron, aluminium, tin, lead, mercury and cadmium come out of old mine workings. Phosphorus from sewage is another powerful pollutant. It comes from detergents and stays in rivers for a long time, taking up valuable oxygen. Few sewage works are equipped to remove phosphates.
• Careless people can also pollute rivers and harm wildlife by pouring things like used car oil and paint into drains.
• Rubbish dumps create a strong chemical cocktail called leachate. This can be deadly to fish, small water creatures and plants. In modern waste sites great care is taken to ensure that none escapes, but leachate from older rubbish dumps seeps into rivers and can pollute our drinking water.

The Murray Darling River System

Problems of the Murray-Darling River System have become a concern for people of Australia who depend on the rivers resources. They use the rivers resources so much, however, that they have exploited the rivers natural resources and they are degrading the environment.

The land has been over-cultivated and the plant life has been overgrazed. Much of the land has been cleared of its native vegetation. When the land is degraded it leads to soil erosion, more acidic soil, declining native vegetation and then weeds and other unpleasant plants will increase and cause problems. Water is also being over-extracted from the river, which is used for hydroelectric power and for irrigation. The quality of the water is becoming poor from the turbidity and nutrients being added from the erosion of the banks and from the constant extracting from the river.

Another problem with the river is the high salinity concentration. The salinity is caused by salts from the weathering of rocks, from naturally saline groundwater, and from salt deposited over thousands of years by precipitation (cyclic salt). This salinity is causing problems many of the agriculture, domestic, and industrial processes in the Murray-Darling Basin area.

The River Murray does get polluted by other things. Stormwater collects pollutants and washes them into the river. Blue-green algae contain toxic compounds that can kill stock and cause health problems for humans. Litter is dumped in wetland areas or is left lying on the riverbanks to be washed into the river with run-off. However, these pollution problems are relatively minor and can be handled simply in comparison with the more complex and expensive management needed to combat salinity.

Sometimes when its windy you might think that its not a good time to go outdoors and play. But when the wind puts on a ’show’, the outdoors can be a very exciting place to be.

City parks are great to explore on windy days.

The wind can be noisy and cold as it howls through the trees, ripping off leaves and branches, blowing things around. But it can also be thrilling and exhilarating as it can take away our voices, blow our hair all over the place and gently push us around. The wind can create different shapes, sounds and colours.

Why not go to a big open park and watch how the wind blows the leaves off the trees and listen carefully - you may even here the wind talking.

Flying a kite is a great thing to do on windy days. But if you find it a bit hard to manage it wind flags are great - they make the movement of the wind much closer and easier for you to control. You can use them for lots of other things - a game of flag raiding where you play with a groups of other kids and try and capture their flags.

You do not need to go far because even in your own backyard you can see how the wind will change things.

In this weeks Outdoor adventure, we visited some bushland on the Goulburn River just south of Shepparton, Victoria, to see how many different colours we could find in nature.

This area provided us with the perfect setting. At first glance the colours around us seemed to be only shades of greens and browns, but as the girls really started to search for treasures, the true colours of the bush began to appear.

The girls were all given a piece of cardboard which we covered on one side with double sided tape. We then asked them all to create a collage using things they found in nature. As the girls began to search for objects with which to make their bush pictures, the true colours of the bush slowly began to reveal themselves. The beautiful pinky red of the ripe peppercorns and the vibrant purple of the wild thistles for example were such a contrast to the colours we saw when first arrived.As well as colours, the girls found lots of other wonderful treasures, including butterfly wings, cicada shells and a whole colony of water spiders swimming in the river!

The finished collages were absolutely beautiful. It was great to see the different approaches the kids had taken. Some had randomly applied their found objects while others had used the wild objects to create very beautiful patterns!

It is was so lovely to just watch the girls venture off in search of things for their pictures. Listening to them discuss with each other what they had found and how they were planning to use those things, as well as complimenting each others work and asking each other for suggestions.

After they had finished their pictures, we had a little picnic and then girls spent the rest of the time we had their just playing and exploring this beautiful Australian bushland.

Up close or from a distance, this area really showed us how perfect Mother Nature’s palette really is!

For children, digging and planting veggies then harvesting a little crop, puts them in touch with the earth and her resources. It nurtures a direct relationship between growing things and the food we eat. In fact studies have shown that children are much more likely to eat things that they have grown themselves.

This week on our outdoor adventure Maddie took Tobie and Cluny to a local nursery to choose some punnets of vegetables to take home and plant.

We decided to keep our veggie patch quite simple. Our drought conditions means that watering our veggie patch has to be done either from our rainwater tank  or bath water. We are lucky to have a little veggie patch in our backyard , but you can also plant veggies in planters and pots!

Our garden has a little brick pathway so the kids can work away without stepping on any of the plants.  We turned our soil adding compost as well as sheep manure from the nursery.

At the nursery the girls chose a tomatoe plant, some lettuce, a punnet of basil, some spring onions, some bean seeds and a punnet of marigolds. The marigolds attract helpful bugs to the garden such as lady beetles, which love to feast on little insects that might chew away on our veggies!

Maddie carefully built a Tee pi for our beans to climb up, using bamboo and string. The girls planted about twelve seeds around the base of the tee pi, and in just over a week, the seeds had germinated and popped up through the soil. As the beans grew, the girls have been encouraging them to twist up and around the tee pi.

We also pushed a couple of sunflower seeds into a pot and now, a few months later, we have these gigantic flowers , their heads bigger than ours! We are now waiting for their seeds to dry and drop so we can eat them.

Unfortunately due to the lack of water, the tomatoes haven’t thrived, and whilst our beans were off to an amazing start, did eventually start to whither in the very hot temperatures we have had.

Our basil has been plentiful, perfect for making pesto!

Children can learn new skills, have fun, play and develop self-confidence by spending time in the garden tending plants and growing their own food. Most children enjoy being outdoors and love digging in the soil, getting dirty, creating things and watching plants grow.
Children learn from growing things
People of all ages can enjoy gardening but children, in particular, will have lots of fun and gain special benefits. Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

• Responsibility - from caring for and tending plants.
• Understanding - as they learn about cause and effect (for example, plants die without water, weeds compete with plants etc).
• Self confidence - from achieving their goals and enjoying the food they have grown.
• Love of nature - a chance to learn about the outdoor environment in a safe and pleasant place.
• Reasoning and discovery - as they learn about science, botany, nutrition and simple construction.
• Physical activity - that is fun and productive.
• Cooperation - including shared play activity and teamwork.
• Creativity - finding new and exciting ways to grow food.
• Nutrition - learning about sources of fresh food.

How to get children interested
Try these suggestions to get children involved and interested in creating an edible garden.

• Keep it simple.
• Give children their own garden space; it does not have to be big - it can start in a large container or in a few pots.
• Involve older children in the planning and design of the garden.
• Use lightweight, easy to handle and correct size tools and garden equipment.
• Encourage children to dig in the dirt. Younger children love making mud pies.
• Grow interesting plants like sunflowers, corn, pumpkins, tomatoes and strawberries.
• Use a trellis or tepee to grow beans.
• Plant flowers that attract butterflies, ladybirds and other interesting insects or birds.
• Make a scarecrow.
• Install a water feature, birdbath or sundial.
• Set up a worm farm.
• Visit community gardens, children’s farms or the botanic gardens for ideas.

Safety in the garden
Here are a few safety tips that will help make the garden safe for all children:

• Select the correct size tool.
• Keep sprays and fertilisers out of reach; garden organically whenever possible.
• Do not use chemicals.
• Provide safe equipment and tool storage.
• Secure fences and gates.
• Provide shade in summer with umbrellas or shade cloth.
• Encourage children to wear a hat, sunscreen, suitable clothing and gumboots.
• Be careful with buckets of water around very young children and toddlers.

Plant selection
An edible garden is a garden that contains flowers, herbs, seeds, berries and plants that you can eat. Children like large, brightly coloured flowers and vegetables that grow quickly. Plants like sunflowers, corn and pumpkins are suitable. You should also consider using varieties of plants that have sensory and textural qualities as well. Sensory plants are plants that have special smell, taste, touch and sight qualities.

Different ages in the garden
Toddlers, preschool, primary school aged and older children will all have different expectations and learning experiences from exposure to an edible garden. Younger children will require careful supervision during activities. Older children are physically capable of handling a variety of activities including lifting, carrying, mulching and pruning.

Activities in the garden
Choose activities that suit the child’s age. Suggestions include:

• Preparing the soil with organic fertiliser
• Planting vegetables, fruits and flowers in the correct season
• Watering the garden
• Weeding
• Gathering seeds and dried flowers
• Deadheading flowers
• Replanting and re-potting
• Composting, recycling and mulching
• Using the worms from the worm farm
• Craft activities from harvested seeds, plants and flowers
• Picking vegetables and fruits when they are ready to eat
• Preparing food
• Healthy cooking, making salads and preparing school lunches.

Where to get help

• Community or local garden groups
• Local council
• Cultivating Community Email: info@cultivatingcommunity.org.au
• Horticultural Therapy Association of Victoria Tel. (03) 9848 9710 www.horticulturaltherapy.com.au

Things to remember

• Gardening is a healthy, fun activity for children.
• Children develop new skills and learn about science and nature from growing their own food.
• There is a variety of interesting activities they can be involved in, like planting, mulching, weeding and cooking.
• Make sure that your edible garden is a safe place with suitable equipment, tools, fences, gates and paths.

• Content partner
• More information
• Gardens for health

• Print fact sheet
• Listen to fact sheet
• Email fact sheet

You might also be interested in:
Children - getting them active.
Exercise - everyday activities.
Gardening - people with disabilities.
Gardening safety.
Gardens for the senses.
Physical activity - it’s important.

Growing your own veggies is a great way to learn about the world, get kids outside, save money and encourage healthy eating. Many people already do it, and lots of us say we should do it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you don’t have the space or the money, because you can get around that. We live in a small ground floor unit, and we have a row of pots out the back with tomatoes, carrots and herbs growing.

Step one - work out where you are going to grow your plants. If you have a house with a big backyard, you can have as big a garden as takes your fancy. You might need to build a garden bed, or perhaps you already have an empty bed there. If you have a small yard, you might need to be a little more creative. Can you fit a garden down the side, or in a funny-shaped corner somewhere? If you’re in a unit, can you put pots outside or on a veranda? The advantage of this is that you can take them with you if you move; pots are also a good option for renters. Talking through the options of where to put the garden/ pots, what will fit where and the like develops spacial awareness in your children - a very important mathematical skills.

Step two - go shopping! This doesn’t have to be expensive. Give you children a budget ($10 gets you set up nicely) or at least get them to add up your purchases as you go. Also make sure that you compare brands and sizes of pots and plants at the hardware store/ nursery. This is yet another opportunity for you do weave numeracy development into everyday activities.

This is a list of things which you might need, depending on your circumstances, what you already have and your budget. Seeds, seedlings, pots and saucers, stakes, fertiliser (if desired), potting mix, watering can, shovel/ trowel etc.

There are also many ways to drop the cost down if you want. Instead of buying plastic pots (about $5) buy a 98c bucket and drill some holes in the bottom. Buy smaller seedlings, or seeds, as these are cheaper than larger plants. A watering can isn’t a necessity, a milk or soft drink bottle with some holes in the top and the lid on turned upside down is a good improvisation. Remember to keep your kids adding up how much you’re spending. Compare this figure later with the money you save with not buying veggies later. It might take a few goes to make up for purchasing non consumables like pots, but within two or three ‘crops’ you’ll come out ahead.

Step three - measuring out and planting. Plant your seeds/ seedlings according to the directions on the packet. Have the kids measure out the rows 20cm apart, and the 5cm between each carrot or whatever the directions are. More geometry! If you’re using soft potting mix, the kids’ beach toys will probably be enough to dig holes; why buy a metal spade if a plastic one you already have will do?

Step four - tracking the growth. Depending on how enthusiastic your kids are and how long you want to spend, you might want to keep track of how well your plants are growing. Make a list on paper or in Excel of the date (or number of days since planting) and the height. If your kids are really keen (and/ or doing graphing at school) you might want to make a graph of the growth rate. Remember to keep it fun. Phone Grandma and let her know how quickly the tomatoes are growing, or that there are now three carrot shoots coming through. Enthusiasm = good! The more excited they are, the more maths you can sneak in, and the more they’ll be looking forward to eating them.

Which is step five - eating! The kids should be really excited about eating food which they have seen grow from scratch. It also means that you’ll save money that week at the shops, and you won’t have to buy as many veggies!

For adults the beach is about relaxation, sun and surf, but for a child the beach represents a place of never ending possibilities. Of course splashing in the ocean is lots of fun but a child will love a day at the beach no matter what the weather.From out of the sand emerge castles for the princesses, cars for a drive, boats for fishing. Suddenly mermaids with long flowing hair and jewellery made from exotic shells and seaweed beads come out of the ocean for a play!

Tunnels and caves, amazing feats of engineering appear as the children dig and burrow in the sand. Just the sound of the ocean and the lapping waves seem to give children a different kind of energy!

On this week’s episode of “Outdoor Adventures”, we took a trip to one of Melbourne’s local beaches. It wasn’t really a swimming day but the kids spent hours building beautiful sand dripping sculptures and sand pictures. It is so interesting to just sit and watch them gather their materials and then listen to them as they talk through their method and explain what they are making.

Pretending to be seagulls and running through a flock which arrived to see what they could find to eat, reminded us of the day we went out bird observing. The kids really loved becoming a part of nature by pretending to be birds, flapping around and squawking on the beach.

The beach is also a place that children are often happy to just play in their own little space. They often just find their individual spots and get into and activity quite happily without the need interaction with others. Maybe there is just a lovely peacefulness about the seaside that brings out that desire in all of us to just have some quite time alone. Even for a child, chattering away to themselves while happily digging a hole, is just another great thing to do while visiting the beach!