����ý

NAOMI: The plants around us are all at different stages in their life cycle. Some are just beginning to grow, some have grown leaves, flowers or fruit and some have been living for a long time and have grown really, really big.

CHILD: I've found found a new plant.

CHILD: I've found a massive one.

NAOMI: Most plants start as seeds. Seeds come in many different shapes and sizes. But all seeds have an outer shell that protects a baby plant and some food for it that are inside the seed.

The baby plant will stay inside the seed until it gets the things it needs to grow - water, light, air, the right temperature and time.

Let's find out more about how seeds in the earth grow into plants. If they have the right temperature and the right amount of water, light and air, soon things will start to happen.

These are roots, they grow downwards into the soil. They help keep the plant firmly in the ground and pull water and nutrients up into the seed. These nutrients make the plant strong enough for a shoot to push up through the soil, a stem sprouts upwards and the plant grows leaves. Every part of the plant has a job to do and the job of the leaves is to use water, sunlight and a gas from the air, called carbon dioxide, to make food for the plant.

Now the plant has everything it needs to grow big and strong. Some plants grow first from a seed and then develop a bulb that stores their energy under the ground and helps them grow back year after year. Each year the bulb gets bigger and stronger and so does the plant.

So now we know how plants grow, can you tell me where plants grow?

CHILD: Gardens.

CHILD: Farms.

CHILD: At the beach.

CHILD: Inside.

CHILD: Forests.

CHILD: On a roundabout!

CHILDREN: Everywhere!

NAOMI: It does seem that plants grow everywhere, but there are a few places that plants might not grow so well can you think of any?

CHILD: In the dark?

NAOMI: Yep! Plants will find it hard to grow in the dark because they don't have all of the the things they need to grow.

Differentplants like different conditions and temperatures to grow in. Some plants like windy conditions.

Other plants like warm conditions, so in cold places they need to be grown indoors, in a special building called a greenhouse.

Let's see what our Nature Explorers have found out about the plants that grow where they live.

ANEESHWAR: Hi, my name's Aneeshwar and here's my dad. We are looking for plants that grow in the streets.

NAOMI: Woah, what have you found there?

ANEESHWAR: These are tree guards.They help young trees grow big and strong!

ANEESHWAR: The grass has found a way to grow in the cracks. I wonder how it got there?

NAOMI: That looks interesting.

ANEESHWAR: There are some new shoots of plants starting to grow over here.

ANEESHWAR: What plants can you find where you are? Bye!

NAOMI: Thanks, Aneeshwar!

Your bell is light and tinkly like a young leaf. And your drum is heavy and thick like a big old tree.

What sound do you think you could make for a seed? How about roots going down into the ground, or shoots rising out of the earth? What sounds can you make? Maybe your class could make a soundscape of a plant growing! Oh, I wonder what that could sound like?