MAKING A SCARECROW

Reuse, reuse, reuse – The beauty of making a scarecrow is that you can put your old, pre-used items to good use protecting your garden. Everything you need to make a scarecrow can be reused and you shouldn't need anything new. Old clothes, broom handles, twine you've already used in the garden, old CDs – they are all scarecrow gold! If you are in need of a particular item, ask a friend or other staff members, rais lost property or head down to the charity shop.

This is a fun way to discuss how to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently sewnt seed and growing crops.

Start with the framework: Your scarecrow will need support to keep it upright. You can use old broom handles, branches and fence posts but watch out for rusty nails that could cause harm or splinters.

Move onto the fixings: Think about how you will attach the different parts of your scarecrow to one another. You can use garden twine, cable ties, thin wire, raffia or duct-tape. You can also use a hammer and nails.

What will the body look like? Any old piece of clothing can be used and stuffed with straw, twigs, plastic bags, shredded paper, or worn out fleece and netting from your allotment plot. You can also make a body out of plant pots, boxes or old bottles.

The all-important head: When it comes to adding a head to your scarecrow, painted plastic plant pots, water bottles, stuffed hessian sacks and old footballs are potential materials. Don't forget to add a hat, too! An old colander looks great as a headpiece. Or even a patchwork effect of lots of old fabric

Accessories: Garnish your scarecrow with extra shiny, noisy things to help deter the birds. These could be old CDs, tin foil, bottle tops or tin cans.

This is a great way to entertain a class on a gloomy day. Who said you only need one scarecrow either?

Think about the aspects you may need and you can get the participants to design their scarecrow or simply get stick in with your resource pile.