Bog Mosaics

Source:

The Moine Mhor National Nature Reserve, local schools pack (SNH)

Time

30 minutes

You will need

• large sheet of white card for each group
• pastels, paints, crayons etc
• brown or black backing paper or material
• waterproof trousers, plastic bags or pallets or a board walk to sit on, in order to stay dry whilst examining a wet bog close up

Did you know?

Bogs are amazing places, full of coloured plants and insects and interesting patterns and shapes. There are lots of things to see if you take the trouble to get down and look closely at the detail of the bog. Moine Mhor and Flanders Moss National Nature Reserves are excellent places to visit to study a bog.  Staff may be available to support your visit and Moine Mhor has an education pack that you may find useful.  See 'Where to go' for more infomation.  

Before the activity

Prepare the card. Give each group, of 2-4 children, a sheet of card and get them to divide it into irregular shapes with a ruler and pencil. Make enough shapes for at least 2 per group member and cut them out.

Explain that bogs are very fragile places and ask everyone to take care not to trample or squash the plants and animals on the bog. Try to get them to stay on the board walks or paths provided to do their drawings, so that they stay dry.

Perhaps do the activity First Impressions in the Landscape section.

The activity

Get the children to divide into their groups and choose a spot to work in. Have them look very closely at the detail all around and the shapes and colours and patterns in the bog landscape. Ask each member of the group to copy the texture, pattern and colour of a chosen part of the bog or a chosen plant or animal, onto their two card shapes. Back in the classroom they can place the cut shapes back into the original square and stick onto a dark coloured background. Each square can be hung on the wall and all together they make a great bog mosaic.

Complete the activity 'First Impressions'

Suggested Follow up

Take photographs, or make sketches and take colour notes, of animals found on the bog like caterpillars, beetles and dragonflies, frogs and damselflies. These may well be very colourful or beautifully patterned. Add card paintings of the bog animals to the mosaic.

Transfer ideas from the bog mosaic onto the school playground using coloured chalk.

Downloads

All About Sphagnum Moss in the 'series Education and Teachers Resources' see SNH Publications

Curriculum Links

Expressive Arts

AgeRange

2