Craigmillar Castle Woods Conkers+

As part of P6 and P7 JASS award, they went to explore what Autumn treasure they could find. Taking a stroll down one of the parks historic walks (Horse Chestnut Avenue) they found hundreds of conkers which they then used to create pictures, make jewellery and play conkers. The groups loved finding the autumn treasure and enjoyed learning how to play conkers and strategising the best way of preserving. They used a small drill bit with protective gloves to drill a hole through the centre and then threaded string through. Children were involved in risk assessing the activities and decided on their own rules to help keep them safe.
This area was planted over 250 years ago by the Gilmore Family. During this time parks and garden design was beginning to capture imaginations of wealthy landowners who began to create landscapes to demonstrate wealth and importance. A decorative tree was planted, like horse chestnut, to provide shelter and scenic avenues to be enjoyed during leisure time.