Lesson Idea: Watching leaves decay…

The outdoor structure club built a leaf mould bin to make compost. We were interested to see what happened to the leaves, as they started to decay.
We collected leaves and grass, some that had already fallen from the trees and others that were still attached. We laminated our collections and took a photo copy so that we could compare the two.
A creative way to watch the process of turning leaves into compost.

    

      

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”

Albert Camus

“How beautifully leaves grow old, how full of light and colour are their last days.’

John Burroughs

“Autumn….. the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

William Cullen Bryant

Pressed leaves

What you need:

• Some dry leaves Old newspaper
• A few heavy books

How to make:

1. First you need to collect lots of different dry leaves.
2. Place one of the heavy books on a table and then place a sheet of newspaper on top of it. The newspaper absorbs the moisture from the leaves and stops them rotting
3. Now you can choose some interesting leaves to place on top of the newspaper. Try to space them out so that they’re not touching.
4. Next place a sheet of newspaper over the leaves and place another heavy book on top.
5. Repeat the layers (ending up with a book on top) until you’ve used up all your leaves. It’s a bit like making a leafy, newspapery lasagne!
6. Leave your stack for 1 or 2 weeks and then carefully remove the layers to see how your leaves have turned out!

There are lots of things you can do with your pressed leaves. Why not use them to decorate cards for friends and family, make them into decorations or place them into a twig frame?