Bark Rubbing and Leaf Hammering {Pond Study Week 11}

This week we had the privilege of seeing the moorhens on their nest as well as spotting a completely new visitor to the pond. Our goal was to do some bark rubbing and leaf hammering of different trees (ie not the ash tree!) for our journal. However, before we get to the bark rubbing and leaf hammering, let’s take a look at our pond this week:

Find out more! If you’d like to know more about why we decided to do a year long pond study, this is the post for you!

Nesting Moorhens

Moorhens build rough nests of dead vegetation on floating plants or in low vegetation near water. And sometimes you might find them in trees. Both parents build the nest and share incubation duties for about 22 days. They typically lay 6-8 eggs, can have two or three broods a year, and sometimes raise their chicks in large numbers due to egg parasitism (dumping eggs in other nests). 

Read this!  If you’d like to read about the day we assessed the pond and planned out our learning.

Nest building and location

• Construction: Both the male and female build a “rough” platform from reeds, twigs, and other dead plant material. You can see the nest building in action in one of last week’s photos shown below.
• Location: Nests are often in shallow water on floating plants, in low-lying vegetation at the water’s edge, or in bushes and trees near or over water.  It may not be clear from the photo above or below, but the nest is built on the roots and branches of our Ash Tree

Read More! Last week we learnt all about the variety of pond birds in the UK

Incubation and eggs

• Eggs: Females lay about 6–8 eggs, which are smooth, glossy, and grayish-white with reddish-brown or olive speckles.
• Incubation: Both parents share incubation duties for around 18–22 days.
• Egg parasitism: Moorhens can lay eggs in other moorhens’ nests, which can lead to very large clutches in a single nest.  Fortunately, we only have one pair of moorhens at our pond, so this is unlikely to happen.

Breeding season

• Timing: The breeding season typically runs from mid-March/April to the end of July/September.
• Broods: Moorhens often raise multiple broods in a single season. 

Read more!  You can find our study of pond fauna here

A Grey Heron Visitor

I think we had a new grey heron visitor this week. I’ve included a photo of our normal grey heron on the left. And the new grey heron is on the right:

This Heron looked to be an older bird and I checked through our photos of the other Heron and his markings around the face are slightly different (see above). I actually wondered if we were seeing a different species of heron. However, when I looked them up, I found that the UK only has three species of heron: the grey heron, the little egret and a rare bittern. So I concluded it was simply an older heron.

This is a great point to read about when we helped an injured duck!

The average lifespan for a grey heron in the wild is about 5 years, though some can live much longer. The first year of life is the most dangerous, with a high mortality rate for juveniles, but survival increases significantly after the first year. The oldest recorded grey heron lived to be over 23 years old.  

• Average lifespan: 5 years. I was surprised by this because I’m fairly certain our heron has lived near our pond for donkey’s years!
• Maximum lifespan: Over 23 years
• First-year survival: Low, with up to 67% of juveniles not surviving their first year
• Survival rate increase: Significantly higher after the first year

Read about our very own pond ecosystem as well as our examination of the pond water

Bark Rubbings and Leaf Hammering

Okay, onto the more creative part of our week at the pond…bark rubbing and leaf hammering!

We have really enjoyed learning about the ash tree, which we will be studying over the course of the year. This is so we can see how much it changes over the seasons. However, I don’t want to fully ignore the other trees which grow around the perimeter of the pond. In a quest to discover some more, the children chose one tree each and completed the tasks I had typed up:

• Do a bark rubbing of a tree, place in the Ziploc
• Pick a few leaves off the tree and place in Ziploc
• If possible break a small twig (with the tree’s blossom or buds) off the tree and place in Ziploc
• Wander around the circumference of the pond noting on the map where any others of the same species are situated
• Once home do a print of the leaf by hammering it onto a piece of paper
• Attempt to identify the chosen tree

Pond pollution is one thing that would affect the number and variety of plants and trees in our UK pond. Read about it here and see what we found.

Click here to read about the animals and plants we have found around our pond

Bark Rubbing

Bark rubbings are a nature art activity where you place paper against tree bark and rub the side of a crayon or pencil over it to reveal the texture and pattern. To do one, take plain paper and crayons outside, hold the paper firmly against a tree trunk with interesting bark, and rub the long side of a peeled crayon over the paper to create a print.  

How to make a bark rubbing

1. Gather supplies: You will need plain paper and wax crayons. 
2. Find a tree: Go outside and find a tree with an interesting bark pattern, or find several different trees to compare their textures.  I asked the children to do bark rubbings on any tree except the ash tree.
3. Prepare your crayon: Peel the paper wrapper off your crayon so you can use the long, flat side of the wax. 
4. Place the paper: Hold the paper firmly against the tree bark, or use a small piece of tape to hold it in place. 
5. Make the rubbing: Use the long side of the crayon to rub back and forth over the paper. You may need to press firmly to make the pattern appear. 
6. Compare the results: Repeat the process with different trees to see how the patterns vary. You can use different crayon colors to create different effects. 

Read More! I thought I’d direct you to our Ash Tree Study which we began right at the start of our pond study and its extension Ash Tree and Lichen

Leaf Hammering

Aside from bark rubbing, the children also learnt about leaf hammering. This was new to the guys and something they delighted in doing! I mean, it’s noisy, violent and messy…what more could a child want!

Leaf hammering, also known as “Hapa Zome,” is a nature craft technique where you place fresh leaves and flowers on fabric or paper and pound them with a hammer to transfer their natural pigments. It involves arranging the plant material, covering it with a protective layer, hammering it to release the color, and then revealing the botanical print. This creates beautiful, one-of-a-kind designs suitable for various projects. 

How to do leaf hammering

1. Gather your materials: Collect fresh leaves and flowers and choose a surface, like a piece of fabric (like an old t-shirt), paper, or a sturdy cutting board. You will also need a hammer and a protective cloth or paper towel.
2. Arrange your design: Lay the leaves and flowers in a pattern on your chosen surface. You can use masking tape to hold them in place.
3. Cover and pound: Place a protective cloth or a few sheets of paper towel over the arrangement. Carefully and firmly hammer the area, ensuring you cover all the leaves and flowers to release their pigments. You can use the side or a flat part of the hammer.
4. Reveal your print: Gently remove the hammer and the protective layer. The natural pigments from the leaves will have transferred, leaving a print on the fabric or paper.
5. Finish your project: Scrape off any remaining bits of leaves with your fingernail. For fabrics, ironing the print (without steam) can help set the colours.

What Will We Do With the Bark Rubbing and Leaf Hammering?

Between us, using this key, we managed to identify the trees as a willow and we think a cherry plum blossom, although I reserve judgement on this one, as it has not flowers or fruit yet and so it was hard to tell. We then made a mini book containing all we had collected.  This and the bark rubbing and leaf hammering art will be placed in our journal page at the end of May.

Leaf Hammering

You could also use your leaf hammering to create unique botanical prints on items like tote bags, aprons, or t-shirts, or on paper to make cards, collages, and framed art. 

Wall art

• Framed prints: Frame your finished leaf prints to display as nature-inspired artwork. Experiment with different types of leaves and flowers to create a gallery wall of various shapes and colors.
• Leaf print collages: Cut out your individual leaf prints and arrange them into a larger collage or mural. You could use them to create the “leaves” of a larger tree or arrange them in a mosaic pattern.
• Bunting: Cut fabric prints into triangles and string them together to make decorative bunting or flags. 

Wearables and textiles

• Reusable bags: Create a custom design on a tote bag or other fabric accessory. For more permanent results, you will need to pre-treat the fabric with a mordant like alum and set the pigment by ironing it afterward.
• Clothing: Embellish the pockets of a t-shirt or other garment for a unique, wearable art piece.
• Home decor: Make unique home textiles such as pillow covers or decorative table runners. 

Stationery and gifts

• Greeting cards: Create smaller prints on cardstock or watercolor paper to use for personalized, handmade cards.
• Bookmarks: Make leaf prints on strips of cardstock, then laminate them or cover them with clear contact paper for a durable, nature-themed bookmark.
• Nature journals: Create a journal with a cover decorated with your leaf hammerings to record your nature walks and findings. 

Tips for creating and preserving your prints

• Gather fresh leaves: Use fresh, moist leaves and flowers for the most vibrant prints. Dried-out materials do not work as well.
• Protect your surface: Always hammer on a firm, durable surface, such as a sturdy chopping board or a block of wood, that you don’t mind getting stained.
• Set the color on fabric: For a more colorfast print on fabric, pre-treat the material by soaking it in a solution of soya milk and water before hammering. After pounding, allow the fabric to dry, then iron it without steam to heat-set the pigment.
• Preserve paper prints: To prevent the colors from fading over time, spray your finished paper prints with a UV-protective acrylic spray.
• Experiment with techniques: Try layering different leaves, adding extra details with a fine-line pen after the print is complete, or adding extra color with watercolors to enhance your designs. 

Bark Rubbing

You can use bark rubbings to create art by cutting out shapes and gluing them to make pictures, or to add interesting backgrounds to journals. Other ideas include decorating them to look like monsters, framing them in twig frames, or comparing the textures of different trees to make a nature study. 

For art projects

• Collages: Cut out shapes from different bark rubbings and arrange them on a background paper to create a picture, like a tree with a trunk made from a brown rubbing and leaves from a green one.
• Decorated creations: Use your rubbings as a base to draw on. You can turn them into “bark monsters” by drawing faces and bodies, adding glued-on twigs and leaves for extra features.
• Journal backgrounds: Create a unique background for a nature journal page by gluing a bark rubbing to it, then drawing or writing on top. 

For nature study and observation

• Texture comparison: Take rubbings from many different trees and compare them to see how different each one’s bark pattern is.
• Tree identification: Record the bark rubbing and write the name of the tree it came from to help you identify and remember different species. 

Other ideas

• Twig frame: Make a frame for your bark rubbing by gluing twigs around the edges of the paper.
• Bark boats: Use a piece of flat bark for the hull of a boat and attach a stick as a mast.