Here's your fantastically fiendish Friday challenge...
Find a wickedly wild wood to explore
Use our VisitWoods website to find woods within 5 miles of your house.
Just enter the first part of your postcode and Mum or Dad's email address in the boxes below.
Did you explore a spooky wood? Tell us about it:
naturedetectives@woodlandtrust.org.uk
Nocturnal goings-on
Some animals prefer to come out at night, like bats, badgers, owls and moths. They are called 'nocturnal'.
On your twilight escapade, see if you can spot any animals you wouldn't normally see in the daytime.
Try finding a spot to sit quietly and wait for a while. If you have a torch, cover it with a red cellophane sweet wrapper - you'll still be able to see, but it's thought animals, especially mammals, aren't so disturbed by the red light.
nocturnal spotter sheet
I spotted...
Hair-raising woodland log book
Record the sights, sounds and smells of
things that go bump in the night in this
special 'spookified' version of the
woodland log booklet.
spooky woodland log booklet
Petrified pumpkin trail
Make some mini pumpkins and lay a spooky
trail for your friends or family to follow.
Collect some acorns and conkers, then paint them
bright orange and draw faces on with a marker pen.
Lay a secret trail of pertrified pumpkins through the woods or in your garden - place them at intervals along a path, or make arrows with them to guide people along the trail.
Get some more ideas with the terrifying trail kit:
terrifying trail :O)
Did you know? Petrified wood isn't wood that has been scared, it's actually fossilized wood that has been 'turned to stone' (petro in Greek means 'rock' or 'stone'). This happens when a tree's natural decomposition is prevented and the organic materials that make up the tree are replaced with minerals, like quartz, instead. Wow!
Make a leafy lantern
Forget pumpkin lanterns, make a leafy lantern instead to light up the darker evenings :O)
leafy lantern
Fire can be dangerous, so please be very careful when making and lighting your lantern - it's best to do this activity with an adult too.
Pumpkin carving
Already got your pumpkin to make a lantern?
Print a wildlife stencil to create an eye-popping design.
badger stencil
spider stencil
tawny owl stencil
Share your lantern photos with CLUB members, email them to:
naturedetectives@woodlandtrust.org.uk
Have a freaky feast
Hallowe'en is the perfect time
to try out the spooky recipes
from your CLUB pack, especially
if you've got leftover pumpkins.
They're great for spooky parties,
or handing out to trick or treaters!
Which have you made?
- maggot and fly-filled apples
- goblin broth
- witches brew
- mud-dunked apples
- screaming surprises
If you made screaming surprise cupcakes, what was the surprise?
I've been cooking up a freaky feast
Get even MORE spooky ideas in our
Halloween section
- colouring sheets
- spooky bingo
- scavenger hunts
- twig skeletons
- potions and spells
- masks
Had a fantastically fiendish
Hallowe'en in the woods?
Stick this pumpkin sticker over
the pile of leaves on your CLUB
poster and get ready for next
week's challenge :O)