Activities

An adventure around How Hill including a visit to Cromes Broad, a walk through the Secret Gardens and the famous Mud Stick!

Catch water invertebrates and work out what they are!

This tiny thatched marshman’s cottage situated by the River Ant was home for a whole family in Victorian times.

Children work in groups to produce some big art.

A hunt for animal homes before creating an imaginative luxury house for Wally the Woodlouse. Suitable for KS1.

Use woodland materials to decorate a bookmark or turn it into a wand.

Learn traditional thatching skills, then put them to the test! Suitable for KS2

This popular and energetic game provides a brilliant illustration of predator-prey relationships and the mechanics of food chains. Suitable for KS2

Experience life aboard a Wherry. Available during the summer term.

An in depth study of our broadleaved woodland including identifying trees; calculating tree age; discussion of seed dispersal, competition and photosynthesis.

Travel up the River Ant to Barton Broad. Passing the idyllic thatched village of Irstead, borrow our binoculars for birdwatching. Spot otters, kingfishers and traditional sailing boats.

A half-day session for years 5 and 6 follows on from the Barton Broad Trip. Small group fieldwork investigating water quality indicators and chemically test water samples in the laboratory.

Learn about owls, their ecology and adaptations before heading into the laboratory for some owl pellet dissection. Find teeth and skulls of mice voles and shrews.

Cross the River Ant by boat and explore the private marshes of How Hill including birdwatching from a hide overlooking Reedham Water and explore Turf Fen Mill

Years 2/3/4 practice their map reading whilst years 5/6 learn how to use a compass to navigate around How Hill finding special posts.

Collect soft rushes then practice peeling off the outer green skin to reveal soft white pith within, which is then dipped in a saucepan of lard melting on our campfire.

Create animals using air drying clay. During longer stays they can be painted and varnished.

How Hill house is said to have “the best view in the Broads”. After an introduction to water colour painting children interpret the view for themselves.

How Hill Bingo – A bit of fun for groups on longer stays. How Hill related questions and quite a lot of excited shouting!

Use a wooden frame and wool to create some weaving to take home.

Design and make their own clay tile with a nature conservation theme. Best suited to years 5 and 6 staying for four nights.

Teamwork is put to the test building our woodland dens.

Look for animal tracks and clues then decide where we should set up one of our camera traps. In the morning the cameras are collected in and the children discover if they captured footage of a hedgehog, fox, squirrel, deer?