For several years our outdoor play has been enhanced by a section of an old copper beech tree that had to be felled in the church yard. The “stump” served all sorts of purposes – the children chalked on it, drank hot chocolate around it in the winter, had pretend tea parties around it and made “chocolate tea” on it by mixing mud and sand and water.
Late this summer term they decided to “mash” it with poles. They discovered it broke up easily as the wood had decayed so much and inside they found some enormous “grubs”. They were stag beetle larvae.
We sought advice from the council (as stag beetles are a protected species) and have now moved the remains of the stump (plus beetle larvae) to a secluded part of the churchyard so they can continue to develop.
What a fascinating way for children to develop “Knowledge & Understanding of the World”!
