Tuesday 23 February 2016

Calling teachers - Now's the time to teach your class about Peregrines!

As our peregrines get into breeding mode (they've been seen displaying and gravel-scraping in the last few days), it is just the right time for teachers to think about engaging their classes with our exciting and very educational project.

There are several ways to do this:
2014 web cam view from the wide angled camera
1. Simply show them the live web cams on a whiteboard in class or in break time.
2. Use the project as part of your curricular teaching (see below).
3. Loan one of our Schools Resources Boxes...they can be delivered free to your (county council) school!
4. Request a school visit by Emma Wood, People Engagement Officer at DWT.
5. Consider bringing your class down to see the birds 'for real' at a special Watch Point on Cathedral Green in May or June.
A school comes to see the peregrines 'for real'.....

Over the last two summers, we have worked with a number of school teachers to develop a set of Education Resources Loan Boxes for teachers to use. There are three of these available to county schools, plus one for schools in Derby City. A number of schools borrowed them last spring and used them very successfully.
Contents of a resources box displayed

We have also converted some of the contents of the boxes such that they can be viewed freely online.  The resource pack offers ideas for using peregrines and other nest cameras as the core of a wide range of curriculum activities, from EYFS right through to pre-GCSE classes.

These include:
Graphics work by an infant at Brigg Infants School
  • Design Technology, 
  • Science, 
  • English, Mathematics, 
  • Art and Design, 
  • Literacy, 
  • Speaking and Listening, 
  • ICT/Computing
  • History
  • English
  • Geography

All we ask in return is that teachers using our resources let us know how they got on, and give us feedback which may help to improve them in the future. (A few photos would be nice too!)

The Online Resource Pack is available as a 14Mb zipped download of 26 files from our Project's Google Drive here.  If you want to see what's in the resources box, or make your own, download a contents list here.

Let us know what you think!
Visit our dedicate Schools page on this Blog for more teaching resources on offer from the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project.
To get in touch with Emma, please email peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk (Scroll down to the previous post to read more about Emma and see her on top of the tower!).
Emma will be assisted by Marc Whitlock, an education trainee with the Trust.

The project team

30 comments:

Helen said...

An interesting two part article on tonight's One Show about the speed of peregrine falcons and a human attempt to replicate this through sky diving. Should be available on iplayer later.

kate said...

Thanks Helen have you the direct link for those outside of area?

Kate said...


Helen did you watch?
do you have a link and maybe if on iplayer a rough time into the schedule,is there another part tonight?

Helen said...

Hello Kate sorry that I wasn't able to reply sooner. Here is the link to the programme. Both parts are within the same programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0717t2m

I'm not sure of the exact start time so you might have to scroll through a bit to find it. There is then a gap before the second part begins later in the programme. Hope that helps.

Kate said...

Thanks Helen

A few nice Bird caps, amazing speed test from Human CHOL:):)look at start 40:35

Kate said...

doh! first part 14;00 ish..
soree so recap..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0717t2m

14:05 and 40.35

Kate said...

Morning all
I wonder if we are nearing Eggytime???? staying around and in the scrape a fair time daily.

Hope we will have a healthy Season.

Heather said...

Morning Kate, Been watching tiercel? on scrape, falcon swept in from distance & called out. Looks a miserable morning and with snow forecast I think these two "old timers" know the best time to commence proceedings so to speak. Saying that I still recall with some amusement the hot water bottle incident!

Mrs.Irene Query said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kate said...

Falcon still visiting daily.Lovely morning there today.

Looking forward to an increase of scraping, wont be long now!!!
Kate

Carole Turner said...

Hello, this is Year 5 from Kingsway Primary School in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. We always watch the falcons at this time of the year and love trying to predict when the eggs will be laid and when they will hatch. One of my girls has just asked what size the nesting box is please?

Helen said...

Hello Carole, I think the nest platform is roughly about the same size as an office desk! Although I can't remember the exact dimensions. There is a nice video clip of the platform being installed that your class might like to watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfAiY5TLMvw

I'm glad your class is enjoying watching the birds and are looking forward to seeing some eggs. I hope my class is managing to watch the webcams too whilst I am off work at the moment.

Unknown said...

I love watching the peregrine falcons and I am Kieran shaw who is in kingsway primary school and I am in miss turners class. our home work is to write about the falcons and I love it I love looking at birds. I check this website daily thanks Kieran shaw

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Kieran: thanks for your comment and we are glad you are enjoying watching the peregrines! With luck things will get very interesting soon because we hope that eggs will be laid towards the end of this month - so do keep watching!
Maybe someone can bring you down to one of our Watch Point events if there are chicks again this year. The first one is on Saturday 28th May and full details will be on this blog sometime in May when we know what the birds are up to!
Best wishes and do keep commenting if you see anything interesting!
If you post your comments to the latest post on the blog then more of the people who follow the birds will see them.
Nick Brown for the Peregrine Team
Ps. Your teacher could borrow one of our Peregrine Resources boxes maybe? Details of how to go about this are on the post above these comments.

Unknown said...

Thanks for getting back to me nick I'll tell carol my teacher about it I hope everything going well for you I'll see if I can come down and see the peregrine falcons for my birthday because it is my birthday on the 17th of March πŸ˜ƒAnd I'll be 10 thanks kieran

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Kieran: Happy birthday for Thursday!
For more information about where and when to go etc please email us or ask your parents/teacher to email us at peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk .
You would really need either binoculars or a telescope to see the birds properly.

Nick Brown
Project Team

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Kieran: please tell us where your school is situated. We now realise that you may be some distance from Derby!
Nick

Unknown said...

Hi my school is in Kirkby and carol who has be on this comment page is my teacher thanks for hoping that I have a great birthday nick love to hear from you soon

Unknown said...

Hi sorry that I did not get back to u earlier this morning I went fishing with my dad πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜ƒ

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Kieran: Thanks re. telling me where your school is. I remember seeing Carol's comment now I think about it!
It may be better for you to come to Derby on a weekend since you live about an hour away from Derby and presumably won't be free to come until after school on 17th?
Nick

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Carol at Kingsway
Helen answered your query about the size of the nest platform very comprehensively so I didn't feel the need to add anything but I'm delighted that your class is watching our web cams.
You may like to know (since it could be that our Derby pair won't lay before the end of term) that the Nottingham pair now has an egg....
Search for Nottingham peregrines and I think the site comes up OK.
Best wishes
Nick B
ps If you wish to get in touch (eg about Kieran's possible visit to Derby) please email me at peregrines@derbyshirewt.co.uk

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Carol: link for Notts egg - http://www.ntu.ac.uk/sustainability/biodiversity/falcons/index.html

Nick

Kate said...

Hi Carol
Your class may also like to see the actual laying of the egg.
Link in my previous post on the latest/current blog,

http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/exciting-derby-book-festival-talk-in.html

as this thread will start dropping down the list. So pleased to see you and your class participating, on this so very worthwhile part of education. Thank you.

Unknown said...

Hi it's on Facebook that one egg has been laid but not at Nottingham Trent unerversty I love hearing from u all thanks πŸ˜€πŸ˜€πŸ”πŸ§πŸ¦πŸ€ I hope that an egg will be laid soon thanks nick for being bye my side bye

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Kieran:
Here is the link to the egg at Nottingham:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tasnDVnDsU

Hope it works!

Nick
Ps You may want to post your comments to the latest blog entry where you'll see a message from Kate to you.....

Carole Turner said...

Thank you for replying to my query about the nest size. As you can see, the class are really taking this on board. We are having some trouble with the website - I need to get the admin people onto it as it sometimes comes up as a blocked website.... then next time I try I can get on.
We have watched the falcons for several years now... Am waiting for the first egg so the class can start timing the lapse between the egg laying and try to predict when the next one will be laid....We may well catch the egg laying as we don't finish until 1st April...

Unknown said...

Hi at ntu 4 eggs have been laid today in class 😑 We saw the forth egg being laid πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜ƒπŸ˜€ thanks for getting back to me xxx kieran

Nick Brown (DWT) said...

Hi Carole - sorry to hear you are having access problems...very annoying!
Hope you do catch the egg laying though it may happen over the Easter break.
Best wishes to you and your class!
Nick B

Kieran: Derby can beat Nottingham at football but their peregrines certainly beat ours at being first to lay eggs....though what really matters is how many chicks survive and fledge!
Best wishes
Nick

Unknown said...

I support Nottingham forest and I play in there academy ⚽️⚽️