Wild Homes

Welcome to Wild about Colchester. Each week we are going to investigate the wildlife around Colchester. The theme this week is all about wild homes.  

Think about where you live. What makes it your home? What do you think are the most important things to have in your home?   

How about if you were an animal, or even a plant. They need somewhere to live. What do you think would be important to an animal in where they live? How about a plant? 

In the bingo sheet for this week we have asked you to find some animal homes and some places in Colchester that would once have been home to people in Colchester – although no one lives there any longer.  

Here are some activities to try either at home or on one of the Colchester Borough sites.  

• Can you find a home that is currently lived in? One that was lived in 100 years ago? 200 years ago? 500 years ago? 1000 years ago and even 2000 years ago? Take a picture of yourself at each place.  
• Can you find the name of anyone who lived in Colchester, and when did they live here? How might their life be different to yours? 
• Who lived in Colchester castle? Who lived in Hollytrees? Who lived in the Gardener’s lodge? You may find some of the answers at Visit Colchester. 
• How about animal homes – can you find any places where animals live? You may need to look up to the trees, down to the ground and think about big or small places animals live. 
• You could even make home for some of the animals in Colchester. Try making a bird house  or a minibeast home.