Bulb-blog
Use this blog to:
- Ask Professor Plant any questions you may have.
- Share interesting stories or photographs with other schools.
- Once you send a message, Professor Plant will read it then publish it onto the website.
To be web safe:
- We will not publish any childrens names.
- When you leave a message, list the name of your school, then your comment will be posted as 'pupils from' and the 'name of your school'.
- Always ask your teacher for permission before posting a message or a photograph.
SCAN
SCAN is an Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales project, which helps schools promote Education for Sustainable Development.
March 2013
The Final Countdown!
Hi bulb buddies,
Time is ticking on and all your weather reports and flower records need to be sent in by Friday 29 March. This means there are only three weeks left to send in you data!
Don’t worry if your flowers have not opened yet, three weeks is a still a long time. Based on the results from previous years most of your flowers will have opened by the end of March.
Every pupil whose school has sent in records will be awarded a Super Scientist Certificate like the one in the picture! But there’s more… each of you will also get a very special prize… a Super Scientist pencil! – perfect for recording the results of your experiments. So don’t miss out, remember to send in your records!
Whose flowers have opened this week?
In last weeks blog Ysgol Nant Y Coed was the first school in Wales to report that flowers had opened and this week lots more children at that school have reported flowering too! Gosh Ysgol Nant Y Coed, your flowers are doing very well. I wonder if the sun has been shining more in Llandudno?
Greyfriars RC Primary School in St Andrews, Scotland has also reported crocus flowering and Milford Haven Junior School in Wales has sent in records of a crocus and a daffodil flowering! Well done to both schools.
When your daffodils open remember to get drawing! You can send me your pictures and enter the Daffodil Drawing Competition. I am looking for beautiful pictures but they must also have clear labels which show the different parts of the Daffodil. You can look here to see some wonderful examples of winners’ drawings from previous years.
Your questions, my answers:
Rhydypenau Primary School: We had rain over the weekend, that is why our gauge was full. Prof P: Thank you for the explanation Rhydypenau, that's really helpful!
Ysgol Nant Y Coed: Some of the crocus bulbs have flowered so we're sending that information now too. Prof P: Fantastic news! Thanks for your flowering records.
SS Philip and James Primary School: We really enjoyed doing it and remembered to do it every day, we hope that we can do it again soon. Phil+Jim bulb team Prof P: I am so pleased that you are enjoying it so much – I love recording the weather too!
Henllys CIW Primary: still no flowers. Prof P: It's exciting to see your flowers open, but your report that they have not opened is very valuable scientific information too! It could tell us a lot about how cold it has been this winter or how much sunshine we have had.
St Joseph's Primary School (Penarth): We have noticed that our plants continue to grow but we are keeping a very close eye on them to see which one will flower first - we can't wait! Prof P: I feel the same every morning when I look at my plants too.
Greyfriars RC Primary School: 11 daffodils are in bud. A's crocus is the only one growing but all the other daffodils but A's, why is A's daffodil not growing? Prof P: This is a very good question! I’m sorry that your daffodil is not growing A, you haven’t done anything wrong! I am glad your crocus is growing instead. Sadly we do have a small number of bulbs every year that do not grow, it happened to some of mine last year. The reason it happens is unclear. When a daffodil doesn't make a flower gardeners say that the plant has gone 'blind' - as it has no flower head.
Ysgol Porth Y Felin: we had our holidays on the 11 - 15 week so we'll skip a week. everythings ok there hasn't been much rain and the temperature has been a little high!
from porth y felin. Prof P: Many thanks!
Kilmaron Special School: The school was on holiday on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday we had very heavy snow and although the rain gauge only had 3mm in it there was almost 6cm of snow by 2pm. The gauge is in quite a sheltered place as we had problems with a pupil seeking it out and emptying it. Prof P: Good idea to move your rain gauge to keep it safe.
Glyncollen Primary School: We hope our flowers open this week as well. Prof P: Fingers crossed!
Kilmaron Special School: Still no signs of our crocus bulbs although the ones planted years ago in our other raised beds are blooming and the ones in the grass next to our raised bed are almost out. Prof P: Keep watching them Kilmaron!
Many thanks
Prof P
The 1st flower records for Scotland and Wales!
Congratulations to Tulliallan Primary School for sending in the very first Spring Bulbs flower records of the year! Tulliallan’s first crocus and daffodil opened only a day apart, with their crocus flowering on 17 January and their first daffodil flowering on 18 January.
As Scotland is further north than England and Wales they generally have colder weather and more snow in winter. This usually means that plants flower later. Last year flowers opened earlier in Wales and England, so it is quite a surprise that our first flower record this year is from Scotland! But that is the wonderful thing about being a scientist – experiments can often have surprising results!
The second school to send in flower records was Ysgol Nant Y Coed in Wales. Three children’s crocuses opened on the same day on 1 March – St David’s Day! These were the first records for Wales – well done Ysgol Nant Y Coed!
I wonder where flowers will open next?
When your flowers open please send me your flower data, you can see where flowers have opened by looking at this map
TOP TIPS:
- Every pupil in the class can send in their flower record! All the data that is sent in is used to create an average flowering date for each school. Watch the crocus chart and daffodil chart to see the tables change as the data comes in. It is really important that each pupil sends in their record - so the website can calculate the average flowering date for your school.
- Daffodils tilt their heads downwards just before opening. This prevents them from filling with rain after they open.
I would also really love to see photos of your flowers. If you have photos please ask your teacher to email them to me!
My plants here in Cardiff haven’t flowered yet. The bud on one of my crocuses is starting to look a bit purple, so maybe it won’t be long. I can see the flower buds on my daffodils too but they are still green.
Your questions, my answers:
St Nicholas Primary School rain gauge stolen. Prof P: Sorry to hear that St Nicholas Primary. I have put a new one into the post for you, I hope it arrives soon.
Ysgol Y Ffridd Glawiad Dydd Llun yn llawn ers y gwyliau. Athro'r Ardd: Mae'n rhaid ei bod hi wedi bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn yn yr ysgol dros y gwyliau! Diolch am roi gwybod i fi.
Milford Haven Junior School Temp in playground was much colder because of the wind chill factor. Prof P: Brrrr! I hope you were all wrapped up warm when you went outside to play.
Ysgol Porth Y Felin to pp we have a problem with one of the plants. It has creamy browny little things in the pot that look like mini shell pastas. We don't know what they are. ysgol porth y felin. Prof P: Gosh, they sound curious. I wonder if they could be the brownish leaves that protect the plant just before the shoots start to grow? Maybe you could take a photo and ask your teacher to send it to me? I might know what they are if I saw them!
Ysgol Nant Y Coed We have buds on the crocus and daffodils now but none of them have opened yet. The mystery bulb has grown the biggest! Prof P: That’s great news! Keep an eye on them and let me know as soon as they open.
Darran Park Primary Mystery plant has grown quite well the rest of the bulbs are slowly growing. Prof P: Thanks for your plant update Darran Park Primary.
Glyncollen Primary School Many thanks for our new rain gauge. You also sent us a new thermometer but on a slip of paper in the box it said St. Mary's. We were wondering if it was meant for us or should we send it back to you? Can you please let us know. The leaves on our flowers are growing well. Bye for now - Yr.4 Prof P: Oops! I sent out two rain gauges on the same day and things must have got mixed up. Sorry Glyncollen. I have emailed your teacher about the thermometer – thanks for letting me know about the mix up.
Greyfriars RC Primary School Dear Professor Plant, we are a bit confused because only one crocus is flowering and only one daffodil is flowering. Prof P: Congratulations Greyfriars School! You are now the second Scottish School to have flowers! You now need to enter you flower data on to the website to make it OFFICIAL! Remember: You can enter flower data as soon the very first flower opens. You record the date it opened and the height of the tallest part of your plant. Then as each new flower opens you can enter its data on the website too – you don’t have to wait until they are all open. Plants grow at different rates – some grow quickly, some take longer to grow - just like children! I am sure your other flowers will 'catch up' soon.
Many thanks
Prof P
February 2013
Climate Week 4-10 March 2013
Hello bulb buddies!
Next week is National Climate Week – a good time to think about climate change, how it affects us and how we can help to take care of the planet.
For the last 150 years scientists in many parts of the world have been measuring temperature and rainfall, just like you are now in your Spring Bulbs investigations! The scientists have seen that temperatures are rising all over the world and that rainfall patterns are changing too.
Warmer weather and more rain might help your crocuses and daffodils to grow… but global warming also means more extreme weather events, such as heavy snow, storms, flooding and droughts!
There have been lots of floods and more snow in the UK in recent years. Last year the Met Office announced that 2012 was the second wettest year on record in the UK and the wettest ever in England.
Many top scientists agree that pollution levels are contributing to global warming, so what can we do to help?
Be energy – efficient! If we use less energy we create less pollution. How? Simple things we do every day can save lots of energy at home or at school. For example: Turning off the TV or computer when you are not using it saves lots of electricity!
Can you think of some other things that you could do to save energy? Maybe you could talk about this in class? You could also have a look at this Global Warming presentation – it has some other ideas for saving energy.
If you are interested in other things you can do for Climate Week then you can have a look the Climate Week website.
Your questions, my answers:
Thorneyholme RC Primary School PP, We were off on Wednesday afternoon, and our mystery blubs are growing. Prof P: Can you guess what they are yet Thorneyholme or are they still a mystery?
Lakeside Primary Sorry about all the non recorded dates. Prof P: That’s okay! Sometimes I have to miss a day recording too. Keep up the good work.
Ysgol Capelulo We have not got any flowers yet :( Prof P: Don’t be sad Ysgol Capelulo, my plants haven’t got flowers yet either… I am sure they will come soon.
RAF Benson Primary School Some our daffodils and crocuses have started growing. Prof P: That’s great news!
Newport Primary School It has been quite good weather here this week with no rain and some sunshine but the last couple of days have been really cold and quite dull. On Sunday 17th we had an almost spring day and we were all able to get out and have a good time as it was really sunny and felt quite warm. Prof P: Excellent weather reporting NewportPrimary School! Really detailed, thank you! It has been very cold here in Cardiff too.
Balcurvie Primary School Our big rainfall on Monday was after the half term holiday when it snowed heavily! Great fun for us but not for our poor wee bulbs! Prof P: Sounds like you have been having some extreme weather in Scotland! I am glad you have been enjoying it Balcurvie.
Many thanks
Professor Plant
Happy Half Term
I hope you had a nice half term break!
I wonder if you had fun outside during half term? When I am out and about in Cardiff I always look to see if there are any flowers growing like mine… have you noticed any growing near you? If you are playing in your garden, going to the park or walking to school you can still be a Super Scientist – here are some questions to help you. Happy investigating!
Can you see any other flowers growing? Can you spot any daffodils or crocuses? Are they bigger or smaller than your plants? Have they started flowering yet?
Kilmaron Special School have sent me a message to say they have noticed something interesting in their school playground…
Kilmaron Special School All our daffodils in pots are now sprouting and for the first time the children are seeing a couple of daffodils in the ground poking through. There’s still no sign of our crocus bulbs. We have daffodils planted up the side of our drive and in our sensory playground and they are taller than our Edina Trust sprouts. We were wondering if it’s because they’re a different type but won’t know until they flower.
Great investigating Kilmaron Special School! Often daffodils in the ground come up quicker than ones in pots; I have wondered why this is too! You are quite right; some varieties of daffodil do grow faster. Another reason could be that plants in the ground are better protected from cold weather than ones in pots. If our bulbs got colder they may grow a little slower! One other possibility is that the daffodils in you playground may have been planted a few years ago. Baby bulbs like ours grow more slowly in their first year, but they will flower again every spring and you may find they grow quicker next year.
Your questions, my answers:
Coppull Parish Primary School I'm worried that we've done something wrong with our bulbs. You see crocuses and daffodils are sending up shoots in our neighbourhood; but none of ours are peeping through at all. Prof P: Don't worry Coppull Parish School! As I've explained above bulbs in pots often grow slower. I hope you will have some growth very soon, keep sending me updates and let me know how your bulbs get on.
St Joseph's Primary School (Penarth) We are very excited because we have started to notice that some of our bulbs have started to sprout - we can't wait for them to flower. It is half term for us next week so we will be interested to see how our bulbs have grown when we return to school on 18th February! Prof P: I hope you all had a nice break, your bulbs might have grown a lot when you get back!
Darran Park Primary We have growth in all of our pots. Some pots contain more than 1 shoot. They seem to be growing quickly now. The mystery pot is showing lots of growth. We are on half term next week so won't be able to send in any records. Prof P: The mystery bulbs are very exciting aren’t they?
Henllys CIW Primary Some crocus shoots are coming up. Prof P: Thanks for your report Henllys CIW Primary, it won’t be too long now until they flower.
Ysgol Porth Y Felin To pp the plants are again all ok they’ve grown a lot since last Friday you can see the temperature has been quite high and there hasn’t been much water. From Ysgol Porth Y Felin. Prof P: I’m glad your plants are okay, excellent weather reporting too.
Milford Haven Junior School They started to sprout and it’s getting warmer. Prof P: Great news Milford Haven! My bulbs are sprouting too, I can see their leaves but I can’t see any flowers yet.
Rogiet Primary School Dear Professor Plant and Baby Bulb, Some of our bulbs have started to appear we hope to see some more after half term. We are looking forward to finding out what our mystery bulb might be. From Year 4. Prof P: HelloRogiet Primary School, I can’t wait to see what my mystery bulbs will look like too.
Ysgol Nant Y Coed The spring bulbs haven't flowered yet but they’re growing. The mystery bulbs are growing the highest. Prof P: I love a good mystery! Do you?
Ysgol Bodafon The weather is getting warmer. Prof P: You are quite right Ysgol Bodafon, hopefully this will help our plants to flower soon.
Many thanks
Professor Plant
What a lot of weather!
What mixed weather reports you have sent me over the last few weeks! Some schools had lots of snow but others had none at all! Well done to all of you for sending in your weather station records despite the frosty weather.
Some snowy comments …
We had reports of snow from lots of schools…St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, Bwlchgwyn C P School, Glyncollen Primary School, Stanford in the Vale Primary School, Thorneyholme RC Primary School, Coppull Parish Primary School, Freuchie Primary School, Balcurvie Primary School, Gladestry C.I.W. School and RAF Benson Primary School all reported that they had snow.
Some schools, including Manor Primary School, St Joseph's Primary School, Henllys CIW Primary, Ysgol Nant Y Coed, Rhydypenau Primary School and Rogiet Primary School told me that their schools were closed due to snow!
However some schools had very little or no snow. Thanks Stepping Stones Short Stay School and Milford Haven Junior School for your reports.
Since the snow many schools have also reported high winds, storms and lots of rain, and as I look out of my window today the sun is shining – what varied weather over a few short weeks! The shoots on my tallest daffodil and crocus bulbs are now 7cm tall! How tall are your shoots?
Top Tip in frosty weather: If you have snow or ice in your rain gauge, bring it into the classroom to melt and then record it on your sheet. Don’t forget to tip the water away after it has melted and then put your rain gauge back outside!
Your questions, my answers:
St Joseph's Primary School (Penarth) Our school was closed last Friday because of snow so we couldn't get in to check on our freezing bulbs. We have noticed, however, that one of our bulbs has started growing whilst the others are snug underneath the compost in their pots. We tried to think about why this might have happened and wondered whether it is because that particular bulb was planted by you, Prof. Plant and maybe you have encouraged it to grow!? We are pleased to see that the weather has got a bit warmer and are hoping that this means that our bulbs will start to grow. We are very keen to see them flowering! Prof P: Thanks St Joseph’s! Well, I am very green fingered! It’s very exciting waiting for your flowers to arrive isn’t it?
Rogiet Primary School The bulb pots were full of snow this week, we were worried they would die but Mrs Carter said they would be all right! Prof P: Don’t worry, Mrs Carter is right, they are very hardy little plants so I’m sure they will be okay.
Ysgol Nant Y Coed We are sorry for sending the records late because school was closed because of the snow last Friday. Prof P: No problem! Thank you for sending them in when you could.
Stanford in the Vale Primary School Wow... what a bitter cold week, and all the snow we have had! All our bulbs are completely covered in snow... and more snow is expected tonight! Monday's snow/rainfall was frozen, so we brought the recordings inside and allowed to melt! (We hope this was the correct thing to do!) :-) Prof P: Well done Stanford in the Vale that was exactly the right thing to do!
Gladestry C.I.W. School We have started measuring the few bulbs that have come out. The daffodils and mystery bulbs have come out; we think the mystery bulbs are snowdrops, as they have grown very fast. Prof P: That’s a very good guess!Keep watching them and let me know if your guess is right.
Balcurvie Primary School One of the extra bulbs that we planted in a pot and left it in the classroom has began to sprout! We were all very excited. We have also had a very wet week! Prof P: That is exciting Balcurvie! I hope you enjoy watching it grow. I wonder when your outdoor bulbs will catch up?
SS Philip and James Primary School We thought it went well except we forgot to pour out the water once so we counted the amount of water added on the next day. We enjoy doing it, Phil and Jim Team. Prof P: That’s okay, thanks for letting me know and keep up the good work. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.
Ysgol Y Ffridd Dim Record Dydd Iau oherwydd ysgol wedi cau (Dim Dwr yn yr ysgol). Prof P: Athro’r Ardd: Diolch am y wybodaeth gan Ysgol Y Ffridd. Gobeithio bod y d?r wedi trwsio erbyn hyn.
Darran Park Primary 42 of the bulbs have sprouted. Prof P: Gosh that’s a lot! Well done Darran Park Primary.
Ysgol Porth Y Felin To pp, plants are all ok the temperature rised alot on Tuesday! there was a storm on Saturday night so there was loads of rain on Monday. Happy planting!!! Prof P: Great reporting Ysgol Porth Y Felin, hopefully all that rain will help your plants to grow.
Rhydypenau Primary School A very interesting week of weather! Prof P: I agree!
Many thanks,
Prof. P
Crocus countdown!
Crocuses bloom from January onwards, so your crocus plants could be flowering any time now! How exciting! Please check your crocus plants every day to see if their flowers have opened and remember to record the date they opened and the height of the plant.
Your crocus flowers will be purple in colour with orange anther and stigma (the parts inside the flower). They can grow to a height of 10cm.
If you have no flowers yet then don’t worry! The recent cold weather and all the snow may have slowed them down. As the weather warms up the flowers may come out all of a sudden, so keep an eye on them!
Many thanks,
Prof. P
January 2013
Shoot sightings and snow!
Hi Bulb Buddies!
I suspect many of our pots will be under snow for the next few days! This will mean that many schools will be closed. If you do get snow please put a note in the comments section when you send in your weather records. Follow this link to see the all the weather records that have been sent in so far. Select a school then ‘weather’.
Here are some pictures of my shoots. You will see that those I planted in autumn 2011 have grown much more than those I planted last autumn.
If you have shoots already, take a look at my pictures to help work out - which shoots are which.
Please send me any pictures of shoot sightings you may have.
Here is a video showing how your shoots will grow.
Your comments my answers:
St Mary's CatholicPrimary School: We have no records for Monday because it was an inset day. Some of our daffodil bulbs have come through the soil. We have taken photographs and will send them by e-mail. Prof.P: I look forward to seeing them St.Mary’s.
Ladybank Primary School: Thank you for our new thermometer! Prof.P: No worries, thanks for letting me know it arrived safely.
Glyncollen Primary School: Our bulbs have started to grow over the holidays. We hope the frost doesn't get to them. Yr.4. Prof.P: Don’t worry year 4, they are quite tough.
SS Philip and James Primary School:
Happy New Year! A few daffodil shoots are peeping out of the ground and in one or two pots. Quite a few shoots are emerging in the 'Mystery Bulbs' pot and they are a red/green colour compared to the daffodils shoots which are green. Prof.P: How exciting, not seen my mystery bulb shoots yet.
Greyfriars RC Primary School:
Some are sprouting already! All is good. I am really enjoying this project! Prof.P: glad to hear the bulbs are starting to grow and that you are enjoying.
St Joseph's Primary School (Penarth)
Happy New Year Prof.Plant. We have started to notice a few green shoots in some of our pots and are very excited about the plants beginning to grow. We have talked about the weather forecast for next week and think that we may be sending you photos of snow covered pots! (St. Joseph's Primary School, Penarth.) Prof.P: Yes you were right. Some snow in Cardiff but not enough!
Rhydypenau Primary School:
when we got back to school after the Christmas holidays, our rainfall gauge was full, so we must have had a lot of rain in a fortnight. Prof.P: Yes, we had lots of rain over the holidays – a bit too much! Many people had flooding which must have been awful at Christmas.
Henllys CIW Primary:
Some shoots but no flowers. Prof.P: The flowers will come soon.
Auchtertool Primary School:
When we came back from our Christmas break some of our bulbs were showing growth - not only the ones in pots but also some of those we had planted in the ground! Prof.P: Excellent news!
Ysgol Porth Y Felin:
hello p.p the plants are growing quite quickly but we didn't write down Monday because of teacher training. Prof.P: Thanks for letting me know.
Ysgol Nant Y Coed:
This week the bulbs have started to grow, mostly the mystery bulb. The weather was warm at the beginning and at the end it was cold. Prof.P: Great update, Nant Y Coed.
Tynewater Primary School:
We had 50mm of rainfall on Tuesday because we had been on holiday for two weeks and nobody had emptied the rain gauge. Prof.P: Yes, mine was the same. Thanks for noting the reason.
New year, new shoots!
Happy New Year Super Scientists! Hope you had a great break and are ready to get investigating!
At this time of year things start to get really exciting. Now is the time to watch your pots to see if anything is starting to grow. My daffodil shoots have already appeared! Anyone else got any yet? Please send me photographs if you do.
It could take another month or even six weeks until my flowers appear. It all depends on our weather - if it turns really cold then the growth will slow down. If it stays warm they will grow faster.
The next step... Please use my PowerPoint presentation to find out how to keep flower records. Remember each of you must let me know when your flowers open in order to receive your Super Scientist Certificates.
2012 was the second wettest year on record in the UK and the wettest ever in England, the Met Office announced.
The downpours that caused more than 8,000 homes and businesses to suffer flooding led to a total of 1,330.7mm of rain for the year, just 6.6mm short of the wettest UK year recorded in 2000 (1337.3mm).
Analysis by the Met Office suggests that the UK may be getting increasingly wetter as climate change causes warmer air to carry more water. Days of extreme rainfall – downpours expected once every 100 days – occurred every 70 days in 2012. For more info on this see this report from the Guardian.
Many Thanks
Prof.P
December 2012
Twelve more sleeps
I can’t believe it’s just twelve more sleeps until Christmas! I've sent you all a Christmas card in the post to thank you all for the hard work you have done so far.
This is the sixth and last week of recording until January so Merry Christmas from Baby Bulb and me.
I’ve really enjoyed all of the comments and questions I’ve had this year and look forward to answering more in the New Year.
I do hope you all have a fantastic break and return in January eager to see how your bulbs are doing. If you are concerned that your bulbs may not be safe over Christmas then take them home with you – but remember they must be keep outside in the cold!
The weather has been very cold in places over the last week or so but it is predicted that it will get warmer. Harwell Primary School reported -10 °c last Thursday. Very cold indeed! Can you confirm this is correct?
My favourite Christmas carol is the ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ because it contains two of our native evergreen plants. The Celts used these plants to celebrate the Winter Solstice and of course they are used by Christians to celebrate Christmas.
If you don’t know it, here are the lyrics: http://www.carols.org.uk/the_holly_and_the_ivy.htm
Your questions, my answers:
Greyfriars RC Primary School: We are really enjoying this! Prof.P: So glad to hear it!
DarranPark Primary: There aren't any signs of growth yet. Prof.P: Give it time; you should see something in January.
GlyncollenPrimary School: We have seen a pattern in our temperatures this week. We have also found out a way to stop our rain gauge from falling over. We hope we don't have any snow next week. From Glyncollen year 4 Prof.P: Great to hear you are seeing patterns in your weather data and that you have found a way to stop your rain gauge from falling over. Please let me know how you do it?
BalcurviePrimary School: We have had a lot of ice this week and freezing temperatures. We also had snow over last weekend and on Thursday. Prof.P: I hope it gets warmer for you at the weekend!
St Joseph's Primary School (Penarth): We have noticed how much colder is has got this week. There has been some ice on our plant pots and we feel really sorry for the poor bulbs! Prof.P: Don’t worry too much I’m sure they will be fine.
KilmaronSpecialSchool: Records for rainfall on days with negative temperatures may not be correct as the water had frozen and expanded so reading may be higher than actual water collected Prof.P: Thanks for letting me know Kilmaron; I will make a note of it. If it happens again melt it before you measure. Thanks
Ysgol Pencae: It rained cats and dogs on Friday and was milder. Did it rain more in Cardiff? Prof.P: We only had 10mms of rain in Cardiff a quarter of what you recorded!
Birds and berries
Snow has fallen in Ladybank Primary School in Scotland and Nether Kellet Primary School reported frozen rain in their rain gauge! Here in Cardiff too, we have begun to see frost in the mornings.
At this time of the year, birds get very hungry and start to feed on berries. This blackbird began eating the crab apples from the tree at the bottom of my garden. I don't cut the tree back so it becomes a good source of food for the birds in the winter. This is a female black bird - they are brown and don't have yellow beaks – so quite different to the males.
Don't forget to feed the birds over the winter. Find out how to make a speedy bird cake.
Sixty five schools sent in weather records this week! Thanks so much to all of you who sent in your recordings.
Your questions, my answers:
TorView Community School: Please accept the above data as being CORRECT for TorView CommunitySchool. The previous 'temperature' details were wrongly submitted in degrees 'Fahrenheit' instead of 'centigrade.' Prof.P: Well spotted! Thanks for letting me know, I will remove the Fahrenheit data from your charts.
Medlar with Wesham CE Primary School: Hi professor plant there has a little bit of rain so we have not had to water them much. They are not growing yet but they are staying healthy. We are being very patient but we just can't wait for them to grow. Prof.P: Good things come to those who wait! It’s so nice when the flowers open in the spring. It cheers me up every year!
RogietPrimary School: How are you professor plant? It has been very cold here in Rogiet. Prof.P: I’m good thanks Rogiet, been cold here too, but I’m wrapping up warm. I hope you are too?
Your school: Westwood CP School: When I measure the rainfall on a Monday do I count the rainfall that fell over the weekend too. Or should I empty the contents when I get to school on Monday and measure at our usual time of 2pm? St. Mary's RC Primary School (Lancashire): What happens on Monday when the rain gauge includes Saturdays and Sunday? Prof.P: Hi Westwood & St Mary’s! Good question! You should measure the rainfall that fell over the weekend, that way we will know exactly how much rain has fallen that week.
LadybankPrimary School: We think our thermometer is broken because it was snowing today and it read 15 degrees. Prof.P: I will send you a new one immediately. Enjoy the snow! I’m very jealous.
Ysgol Pencae (Conwy): We had lots of rain over the weekend. The weather has got colder. We are measuring our rainfall in ml with a homemade gauge, is this correct? Prof.P: Hi Ysgol Pencae. Great that you have managed to build your own rain gauge! Please could you measure the rainfall in mm rather than ml. Everyone across the country measures in mm so in order to compare we need it in mms. See this video about how to do this. You will be able to convert the mls back into mm by pouting the amounts you measured into your rain gauge and seeing what the mms are. Hope that makes sense. Thanks
Ysgol Capelulo: This week has been really cold and wet. It was very wet on Monday and really cold on Thursday, on Wednesday and Thursday there was no rainfall. This week in Wales it has been very windy. We enjoy taking other people out to help us take the readings. Goodbye. :) Prof.P: Great idea getting others involved, glad you are enjoying!
KilmaronSpecialSchool: We have had to move the location of our rain funnel as one of the pupils in another class was caught emptying it out. It is now hidden behind a bush outside our classroom window. Prof.P: Oh dear, good plan to hide it!
St Joseph's Primary School (Penarth): We have noticed how much the temperature has fallen this week and we are concerned about our poor bulbs getting too cold! Prof.P: Don’t worry they will be expecting it to be cold at this time of year.
Greyfriars RC Primary School: One of our pots has been knocked over we are worrying about vandalism. Prof.P: Oh no! If you re-plant them they are often fine. If the vandals are from outside the school perhaps you should think if there is anywhere safer around the school? If they are from in the school you should talk to them.
Your school: Ysgol Porth Y Felin: To PP the plants are fine we have 2 plants that have started to grow and the temperatures are quite close apart from Thursday, when it was very cold. Prof.P: Gosh growing already!
St Mary's CatholicPrimary School: It has been very cold this week; we hope our bulbs are tucked up nice and warm in their pots. Prof.P: I’m sure they will be fine!
Thorneyholme RC Primary School: Yo prof plant hows it rollin'!!!!????? Cute little bulbs are part of our school now. Prof.P: Great to hear they have settled in.
Nether Kellet Primary School: Today the water froze cool as ice!! Prof.P: Brrrrgh! To get the measurement you need to bring it in to defrost to water.
Many thanks
Prof.P
categories
Historic Photography Project (Esmee Ffairburn)
Linking Natural History Collections in Wales
Sustainability
