My First Nature Video

My First Nature Video is an educational activity video released on September 22nd 1992 by Dorling Kindersley Vision. It is intended to show children how to perform a range of nature activities. It is based upon a book title called ‘My First Nature Book’, which covers many of the same activities as shown in the video.

## Sections

The opening of the video shows the twelve tiles, and describes how eleven of these will be activities that can be followed along with at home, with some being indoor projects and others outdoor ones.

The first tile fills the screen, which introduces the video and how each section is presented – at the beginning of each section, a clip will show everything required to do the project. This also includes the warning for the users to be mindful of plants and animals, especially if they are indoors and thus reliant on the user. It also shows the different kit items that will be required for maximum enjoyment and learning.

The second tile shows how to make a nature showcase to display the things found well. Making this will require six empty matchboxes, coloured cardboard, a pen, pencil and glue stick, a ruler, scissors, cotton wool and clean sand. The matchboxes can be glued together, with compartments lowered to make larger display areas, before these are glued onto the coloured cardboard. The cotton wool is added to each compartment and the showcase is ready for its collection. The sand can be used instead of the cotton wool for some displays.

The third tile is for a project to watch seeds grow. This project requires blotting paper, glasses, a jug of water, seeds, flower pots, a mixing bowl, some potting soil, a trowel, plastic bags with ties, plant labels, cotton wool, some eggshells and cress seeds, poster paints and paintbrush, a pencil, a knife and a pair of scissors. While seeds can be collected from outside, this project looks at growing beans from dried supermarket beans, fruit seeds and growing cress inside an eggshell.

The fourth tile is for making different kinds of bird feeders. This project requires a mixture of kitchen scraps and birdseed, cooking fat, a mixing bowl, a small saucepan, a wooden spoon, a pinecone, a twig and an old yogurt carton, scissors, string and a large needle. This project involves making a bird pudding, which can be placed into a yogurt pot to set or be placed into a pinecone or a log. It also involves making birdfeeders from a fine red mesh bag and by stringing nuts together.

The fifth tile is for tree prints. This project requires coloured paper, wax crayons, masking tape and thumbtacks. This project can involve making rubbings of both tree bark and leaves.

The sixth tile is for a project about bringing twigs from trees into bud. This involves bringing some cut twigs off tree branches outside and placing them indoors in a glass of water, where the buds will grow into leaves.

The seventh tile is for making a pit trap for catching invertebrates. This project requires a square board and four stones, an old pot, a trowel, some food scraps to serve as bait and the nature notebook and pencil. This project involves digging a hole and placing the pot in the ground, before covering it with the board that is balanced on the four stones. The animals can be drawn and identified before being released back to where they were found.

The eighth tile is for making a bottle garden for damp-loving plants. This project requires a large and wide-necked glass bottle, small pebbles, crushed charcoal, peat-based potting soil, moisture-loving plants such as ferns and mosses, a lichen-covered twig, a jug of water, a large spoon and a plant mister. The rest of the section shows how to correctly assemble the garden inside the bottle and care for the plants. Putting a lid on the garden can reduce the need for such regular watering.

The ninth tile is for making a caterpillar house and allow observations of caterpillars turning into butterflies. This project requires a plastic box with a lid, a chopping board, a big piece of cloth and paper towels, a pair of scissors, a paintbrush, a plant mister, some leaves, twigs and caterpillars. The programme advises to release the butterflies after they have pupated (although the episode shows species which are non-native to the UK – releasing these would be illegal).

The tenth tile is for pressing flowers. This project requires flowers and leaves, thick heavy books, blotting paper, coloured cardboard, rubber-based glue, cotton swabs, scissors, a ruler and a pencil. Once the flowers and leaves are flattened inside the book, the paper can be glued onto cardboard to make a pressed flower picture, a bookmark or a gift tag.

The eleventh tile is for making a worm farm. This project requires a glass jar, a trowel, some soil and sand, some dried leaves, a plant mister, a dark cloth and a bowl. For this project, it is recommended to layer the soil and sand in the jar to show how the worms move through the ground.

The twelfth and final tile is for making plaster casts of animal tracks found outside. This project requires a trowel, paperclips, long strips of cardboard, a bowl, plaster of paris, a wooden spoon, a toothbrush, some newspaper and a bottle of water. The cardboard and paperclips are used to make a frame to surround the print, into which the plaster of paris can be poured. The toothbrush is used to clean the cast after it is taken home and completely dried out.

## Animal species filmed for the programme

### Studio footage

* Soil centipede, *Haplophilus subterraneus*
* Brown centipede, *Lithobius forficatus*
* Common rough woodlouse, *Porcellio scaber*
* Violet ground beetle, *Carabus violaceus*
* Julia butterfly, *Dryas iulia*
* Monarch butterfly, *Danaus plexippus*
* Common earthworm, *Lumbricus terrestris*

## Credits

* Demonstrator – Eva Marie Bryer
* Script – Simon Jollands
* Set Construction – Vic Moore
* Design – Tom Gordon
* Camera – Eddie McCaffrey
* With thanks to:
	+ Jane Dunston
	+ Middlesex Polytechnic Studios
* Lighting – Roddy Gibson
* On Line Editor – Bill Ogden
* Associate Producer – David Furnham Productions
* Directed by – David Furnham
* Executive Producers – Tom Gordon and Simon Jollands

## Home media releases

The cover for the VHS of My First Nature Video has a white background and a border of beans and shells, with the picture collage below the title showing a magnifying glass, two feathers, a leaf, a flower, a bird’s egg, a flower, a colourful stone, a pair of tweezers, a twig with berries, a pile of seeds and beans and some growing cress.