CONCRETE JUNGLES, Urban Habitats

Welcome to CONCRETE JUNGLES youngsters!

Did you know we saw a fox with his whole family on the street of our city yesterday? Also a buzzard flying over the forest near the city? One might think there is not much wildlife in our towns or cities but it will be a surprise to discover that in reality we are ALWAYS surrounded by animals in our everyday life, even in urban areas! This activity book would help you find out fun and interesting facts about British cities and urban areas’ wildlife. i This activity book is made by a collection of wildlife information and related games which will introduce you to the urban wildlife by revealing some fun facts and secrets you did not know before, and with the help of this booklet you will be able to place the animals into their respective urban habitats.

Now all you need to do is just to HAVE FUN and discover with us the beautiful wildlife that surrounds us!

The Concrete Jungles Team

Urban wildlife magazine Illustration crew in this issue includes: Veronica Piras For press enquiries, please email press@urbanwildlifemag.com If you know a grown-up who would like to follow us on social media:

@urbanwildlifemag

Whether they’re big or small, humanmade or natural they are a very interesting habitats, active and full of unique life. When you see a pond it might seem like any other patch of water but look carefully, beneath the green pond weed on the surface and you’ll be amazed how many incredible things are happening there.

POND SNAILS! Snails are important to the pond as they help to break down and recycle all of the old dead plants and animals that sink to the bottom.

DIVING BELL SPIDERS! A tiny spider that lives underwater - they are so good at living here that they only have to come up to the surface for air once a day.

POND LICE! Pond lice are important to the pond as well - like snails they help to break down decaying things in the water.

POND SKATERS! Pond skaters have water-repellent hairs on the bottom of their feet, enabling them to walk on top of the water.They hunt for food by feeling tiny vibrations in on the surface.

WHIRLIGIG BEETLES! Whirligigs are tiny beetles that live on top of the water. They get the name from their ability to swim very quickly and whirl around on the surface.

DRAGONFLIES! Dragonflies are expert fliers.

They can fly straight up, down and backwards, hover like a helicopter and zoom around at over 30mph!

TADPOLES!

WATER BOATMEN!

Water boatmen are top predators of the pond.

They are beetles that use an air bubble that they keep on their body to breathe underwater, just like a scuba diver.

The eggs of amphibians hatch into tadpoles, which can breathe underwater with their gills, like fish. In a few weeks, the tadpole grows tiny legs, and eventually become adult frogs, newts or toads.

BLACK BIRDS!

Parks and playgrounds are full of green space and for this reason they can be home to lots of different animals. Sometimes parks are in the heart of towns and cities and suburbs and yet still rich with wildlife. Let’s explore together some of the creatures that could be hiding in these areas.

The males live up to their name but females are brown often with little spots and streaks on their chest. They are one of the most common birds in the UK, and they have a very lovely song!

SLUGS!

The simplest description is that slugs are snails without shells.

Slugs look like an exceptionally fat worm with two snail-like eyestalks. Naturally, the eyestalks allow for vision, but they also contain olfactory organs as well.

BUMBLE BEES!

Bumble bees visit plants seeking for food and they collect nectar by cathcing the pollen on their bodies and will pass between flowers and pollinate them.

Baby Ladybirds are called larvae, they are long, black and spiky-looking with orange or yellow spots – some people say they look a bit like small alligators! Larvae grow quickly and shed their skin several times.

LADYBIRDS! The ladybird’s bright colours act as an important defence mechanism, warning other animals and insects not to eat them.

LARVA

BUTTERLIES!

ADULT

Butterflies are very important pollinators of plants, and are also very beautiful. Did you know that butterflies use their feet to taste?

CRICKETS! Crickets and grasshoppers eat both bugs and plants, and they can jump over 300x their own body length! That’s like you jumping to the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Once it has eaten enough leaves, the caterpillar forms itself into a chrysalis, and inside that it turns from a caterpillar to a butterfly!

There are FOUR stages of a butterfly’s life 1. Egg, 2. Caterpillar 3. Chrysalis 4. Adult.

When it is a caterpillar, its job is to eat as much as it can.

In many urban places some buildings have been abandoned and forgotten by people; despite this they have provided home for thousands different species which now thrive in such habitats. Knock knock! Who’s living here?

BATS! Bats can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes an hour. Bat droppings, called guano, are one of the best plant fertilisers.

WASPS! Many wasps make their nests from chewed wood pulp and saliva, giving them distinctive papery walls. Most wasps cannot sting you but it is much better to stay away!

BARN OWLS! The Barn Owl is a medium-sized raptor that is active at night. They have a white heart-shaped face and white chest with small brown spots.

WOODLICE! Woodlice feed on rotting wood and that is the reason why you can find in damp, dark places under and between logs.

Though they look more like millipedes, woodlice are actually crustaceans, so they are related to shrimps and crabs.

EARWIGS! While their name may suggest otherwise, they don’t want to climb into your ears!

Though they do prefer dark and moist areas. Not to worry.

Among the many habitats we have accidentally created in our towns and cities, pavements seem to be the least habitable.

But even beneath our stamping feet, all sorts of plants and animals live and can get enough food and water for their needs!

FOXES! Foxes are related to dogs, their populations are often very successful in urban areas around the UK. In nature they live underground in dens, but in cities you can see them sleeping on top of roofs and buildings.

SEAGULLS! Seagulls are usually quite big birds that eat almost anything they find! They are very strong and Seagull Gulls are some of the most dedicated parents you will find in the bird world.

PIGEONS! Pigeons are super tough birds, able to tolerate lots of bad conditions. This has helped them to be successful in urban areas, and its why you see them everywhere!

SWALLOWS!

Swallows spend almost all of their lives flying, even sleeping, drinking and mating while in the air; they only land to nest.

SQUIRRELS! In the Autumn squirrels find and bury nuts and seeds from trees in order to eat them later in the year.

They have amazing memories - they can bury thousands of nuts and remember where they all are.

We are never alone, not even in our own house. Wildlife is everywhere and our homes host many creatures who can enter through the most tiny places you could imagine! Let’s have a look at some example of animals we’re sharing our residency with.

CENTIPEDES!

These small creatures like to crawl around looking for food.

They are predarors and they have many legs, that can even regrow if they lose them!

MAGGOTS! They have no legs, but their front ends have mouths with hooks that help them grab at decaying flesh and other delectable food items.

HOUSE SPIDERS!

House spiders often fall into the bath at night while looking for places to hang their webs. They need help to get out again because they cannot climb up the steep sides.

House spiders cannot hurt you.

MOSQUITOS!

MICE!

A mouse or plural mice is a small mammal from the rodent order of animals. They have pointed snouts, large rounded ears and long tails, They like to sneak in kitchen looking for food.

Mosquitoes are small flying insects that are very common in the UK. They love warm climate Female mosquitoes bite animals and people, leaving itchy bumps.

HOUSE FLIES!

Flies come into the house to look for food. When they find some food vomits saliva over it to make it soft and liquidy.

Then it mops up the liquid with a spongy pad around its mouth. While this is very unpleasant they play and important role in nature.

All towns and cities cannot be too far away from some natural woodlands. Journey away from the busy streets and you can find a huge variety of all kinds of creatures that you may have never seen before!

Nature works at its best when left alone by mankind, and in woodlands you can see all the amzing and complicated ways the plants and animals here live.

BUZZARDS! A buzzard is a type of hawk which is a bird of prey. They are big and very powerful with incredible eye sight. They mainly eat small birds and mammals.

GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKERS! Woodpeckers use their strong beaks to break open wood and eat the bugs inside. All species of woodpecker also use drumming as a way to communicate.

ADDERS! Adders are the UK’s only venomous snakes. Their bites cannot kill but you definitely shouldn’t pick them up! Like most reptiles in the UK they are under threat from human actions and are becoming rarer every year.

ANTS!

Ants are tiny insects that live in huge groups, usually underground. They are incredibly strong; they have the ability to carry between 10 and 50 times their own body weight!

DEER! Deer are even-toed hoofed mammals, they’re herbivorous and they love living on grassland, forest and mountain.

Deer are known for being calm and gentle animals.

GRASS SNAKES!

Grass snakes are not venomous, but they are often much bigger than adders. They are commonly seen warming up in the sun but are also found in ponds, pools and lakes, and are excellent swimmers!

After all this learning let’s have sum FUN !

Now you will be able to use your knowledge on urban wildlife and be the best at this new section of the booklet!

Lots of creatures are hidden all over in the city.

Look on your sticker page to find out who might be hiding...

...in dead wood

...in the streets

...on poles or wires

...on leaves and plants

...in trees

...in ponds

Do you want to create your own little pigeon friend who is going to fly wherever you go?

Follow these simple steps and you will never be alone again!

Many plants and trees use animals to spread their seeds. Often they do this by producing fruit, which the animals like to eat. Inside this fruit there are seeds that the animals can’t digest, and so they are spread in other locations inside animal poos! Some animals, like squirrels, bury seeds like acorns to save them for later, but sometimes they forget to dig them up again and so they have accidentally planted a tree! Some plants make their seeds sticky or spikey so that they they stick onto an animal’s feathers or fur.

We will try this last method in this next activity.

1 1. Time to wear fuzzy socks and pretend to be a furry animal, catching seeds with their fur and running around in the grass 2. Take out your magnifying glass and look at the seed you have collected

2 1. Get your seeds, some mud and a pot, (ask for help from an adult) 2. Half fill a pot with soil and make a hole in the middle in which you will place the seeds 3. Cover the seeds with soil until the top of the pot. Don’t forget to water them gently and regularly!

1. Now you just need to wait until the first leaves come out. Don’t let them get too dry!

3

what plant is going to grow 2. There are many ways you can identify the species of your plant - once it has grown enough you can look in a book, ask an adult or use mobile app such as Google Lens

In the streets the sun is shining and all the animals are out! Help us bring back the colours to the city all you need is your creativity!

How many of the animals below can you spot in Mary’s garden?

Count them up and then write the numbvers in the boxes.

Fo lk

s! I e of the pond’s eleme think m o s nts I forgot to draw in t tom of the page! he d t o b rawings at the

s to find out what’s g n i mis re the two draw sing in t e 9 h t d l i l f a f e renc k he o ne below and mar es by usin ! GOOD LUCK! g a coloured pencil

Co m pa

DO YOU KNOW WHAT PRODUCTS WE CAN GET FROM ANIMALS? Animals play a very important role in our lives. Animals are pets, they can provide food for us and are vital for the maintenance of our biodiversity. Often farm animals aren’t only raised in the countryside but you can also find them in urban environment, in city centres.

You may not realise how many things come from animals. Connect the products on the shelves to the correct animal that has produced it!

THE CITY TOUR GAME FROM 2 TO 4 PLAYERS!

Today we’re going on a trip across the city and our big blue bus is going to take us around.

Gather some friends to play this game with and see who is going to finish the trip faster than everyone else!

1. Peel off one sticker for each player, and ask a grown-up to cut the card out: these will be your counters.

2. Place the counters by the bus and you’re all set! The youngest player rolls the dice first. If you don’t have a dice you can cut out six small squares of paper and write the numbers from 1-6 and draw them with numbers on them from a bag, hat, or coffee mug.

There’s a fox on the road, so you take a different route and skip to square 12!

Tap the table like a drum to go faster and roll the dice again.

3. Keep moving along the board toward the end - the first one to get there is the champion of the City Tour Game!

Ducks crossing the road!

THE END

You miss a turn !

You found a short cut, please throw the dice again!

Miss Ladybird is stuck inside the bus!

Flat tyre!

Go back to square 5

You must throw a 4,5 or 6 to let it out, otherwise you miss a turn

About the Author and Project Origin Hello! My name is Veronica and I am an Italian illustrator and animator based in London. I decided to start this project throughout my last year of university and it has experienced a lot of changes since the start of it. In the past years I have got closer to nature and realised how important is to know about it in order to admire and respect it. In my part time job during the last year at university I was nannying two fantastic kids who live in the city of London. While they had little previous experience of the natural world, I was thrilled to learn that they were immediately very curious and always excited to explore nature with me, so every day I was setting up different tasks and activities for them to get to know the urban wildlife better. It is thanks to them that the idea for this book came up! I decided target it especially for children with low access to nature, who live in cities and want to become little explorers. This is because I know that once children are begun to be introduced to nature more regularly, a love and respect for the planet is able to naturally flourish.

The Concrete Jungles Team