Watch out for things that you can download or print like lists of things to find in the countryside.
New things will be added to this page over the life of the Project: new links, new quizzes and games, new information about
schools. Keep coming back to see what's going on!
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Challenges
Welcome to the Meirionnydd Oakwoods challenge page!
The oakwoods are a great place for you to learn more about the countryside around you, and how the oakwoods habitat works.
Have a look at the different things for you to make and do, follow the links to each option.
Treasure Hunt
Here is you’re your treasure hunt challenge! Choose which treasure hunt matches the season and go to
one of our Meirionnydd Oakwoods sites (look at the Where to See pages for ideas)
and take up the challenge.
Summer
(click for printable page)
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Find three different leaves, one of them must be from an oak tree.
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Find the fruit of one of the trees in the forest, remember not all fruit are red berries.
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The forest is a wide and varied food source for many different animals, find a leaf where a caterpillar has eaten a bit.
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Find two different types of tree seed.
Autumn
(click for printable page)
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Find six different shades of orange, and then put them in sequence from darkest to lightest.
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Find two acorns still with their cups on.
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Moss makes up an important part of the forest plant community, find three different types of moss.
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Autumn is a great time for studying the different shapes and colours of leaves in the forest.
Collect 10 different types to take home and press.
Winter
(click for printable page)
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Winter is a very peaceful time in the woods, as you walk about listen out for birds calling,
how many birds can you hear in one minute?
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All the trees are bare during the winter months…or are they? Find 4 trees that still have leaves
even though it’s the middle of winter.
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Food is scarce during these cold winter months. Squirrels, Dormice, and Jays have been making the
most of the acorns, can you find any that have been eaten by one of these animals?
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Not all plants are dead through winter, have a look around for signs of life; can you find any new
buds or shoots? Count them but don’t pick them, we need them t keep the forest growing.
Spring
(click for printable page)
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The forest is now waking up after a long winter sleep, snowdrops and primroses are amongst the first
flowers to bloom in spring. Can you find any in your forest? (Remember it’s fine to look at them,
but don’t pick them - leave them for other people to enjoy!
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All the trees in the forest have different buds, the bud is where the new leaves grow from. Go and find an
oak leaf bud, and two other different types - remember, if you need a clue for which tree is which, have a
look around on the forest floor for evidence!
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Not all plants are welcome in our oakwoods! Can you find a rhododendron in your forest? – Have a look
on the invasive species section to help you identify
it and why we don’t want it in our oak woodlands.
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What can you hear out in the forest? 10 points to the first to hear a cuckoo call!
How to do a...Leaf Pressing
Collect your leaves, then place them in-between two sheets of kitchen paper, and then between some newspaper.
Place the leaves and paper under some heavy books on a flat surface. After a few days you will have a pressed leaf.
How to do a...Bark Rubbing
To do your bark rubbing, simply hold some paper onto your tree bark and rub gently with a coloured crayon or
pencil. The image of the bark underneath will appear on the paper
Why not make your own ‘Tree identification kit’ by collecting all the leaves you’ve pressed, and the bark
rubbings into a book, building up information about your local oakwoods about the different plants and trees that grow there.
