Twenty-nine Year 1 pupils from Llanfoist Primary School became the latest Young Friends of Castle Meadows after a recent session spent pond dipping and playing food chain activities in the meadows. Led by Monmouthshire Countryside Service and Friends volunteers the children greatly enjoyed the hands on activities. They were especially delighted and / or horrified when the pond dipping yielded up a water scorpion into the water tray. Within no time the water scorpion demonstrated the practical lesson of the food chain in action to the extreme cost of the sticklebacks and water boatmen in the tray!

The species identified during the morning were:

• Pond Snails
• Sticklebacks
• Water Boatmen
• Pond Skaters
• Fly Larvae
• Phantom Midge Larvae
• Midge Larvae
• Hog-louse Leech
• Hairworms
• Beetle Larvae
• Water Scorpion.

A very tired group made their way back to school at the end of morning, but they’re looking forward to another visit in a few weeks when they will be discovering mini-beasts and exploring animal habitats.