Episode 15 Green Balloon Club

# Gather round, one and all

# You gotta answer the call

# Listen up, look around you

# There's a magical world to explore

# There's a nature adventure

# Coming your way soon

# So come and join us

# In this Green Balloon

# And when we fly We're higher than the moon

# So join us

# Ah, ah

# In our Green Balloon. #

Hello there! You'll never guess where we're going.

Come on in and find out!

Come on, Skipper...

-ALL: Hello!

-Welcome to the Green Balloon Club!

Sky, are we nearly there yet?

No, we're still over the countryside.

You haven't said where we're heading!

We're off to Wales, to a mud festival!

Yes! A mud festival! How cool is that?

-I can't wait!

-It sounds really fun!

Aren't they going to get all muddy?

I should think so, it's all part of the fun!

I'm not sure I like mud!

But you must, Lily-Rose, mud's fun!

-Shall I do the register today?

-Good idea!

Here we go then. Jay, are you present?

Mud! Shloop! Mud! Shloop! Jay loves mud!

I like that. Jay's here! Sky?

Mud! Shloop! Mud! Shloop! Sky loves Mud!

Great!

Pat? How does it go again?

Mud! Shloop! Mud! Shloop! I like mud!

I'm here!

Skipper? Are you present?

Mud! Shloop! Mud! Shloop! Skipper loves mud!

Good girl! Ant? Are you present?

Mud! Shloop! Mud! Shloop! Ant loves mud!

Lily-Rose, are you present?

Mud, bleugh! Mud, bleugh! I don't love mud, bleugh!

THEY ALL LAUGH

Lily-Rose, mud's fun!

Never mind, Lily-Rose is here. And you. Are you here?

I know you love mud. Join in with me!

ALL: Mud! Shloop! Mud! Shloop! I love mud!

CAT: That's everyone, present and correct.

-Shall we do the Green Balloon Club Chant?

-ALL: Yeah!

DRUMMING

ALL: We love animals, plants and birds

We love snails and slugs

Large and small, we love them all And we never, ever step on bugs

Cos we are the Green Balloon Club!

Hey, Lily-Rose, come over here a moment!

How's your nasturtiums doing?

Very well, thanks. Two of the buds haven't flowered yet.

-Remember when we planted the seeds?

-Yes.

What did you put in the pot to plant them in?

Soil.

I remember you enjoyed filling up the pot.

Yes, but that's not mud! It's soil!

But they're very similar!

TICK-TOCK

CLOCK: Special report! Special report!

-Jelly's special report for us!

-Is she at the mud festival?

No, I don't think so. She's going down to the river!

This is special reporter Jelly reporting for Green Balloon Club,

and I'm going to have a picnic down by the river!

I like having picnics by the river,

because I get to see lots of wildlife!

I'd better not be late! Off I go!

Oh! You can come too, by the way! Come on!

Oh, hello, Finlay! Hello, Gavin!

-Hello, Jelly!

-Are you playing with those sticks?

-Yes! Would you like to play too?

-Yes, please!

We drop our sticks in, run to the other side,

then the water carries it over there,

and then we see who's the winner, and comes out first.

That sounds like fun! Can I have a stick?

OK. Let's go!

Quick! Let's go see who won!

Oh! Oh, whose is it?

Oh, you've won, Finlay! Oh, yeah! Well done!

-Would you like to play again, Jelly?

-Yes... Oh no, I can't!

I've got to go for my picnic. Do you want to come too?

We'd love to come. Do you want to come on the boat with us?

-Yes, please! That would be wonderful!

-Come on! Let's go!

Oh! So here we are on the boat! I can't believe it!

We're hopefully going to see lots of wildlife and nature and animals!

We just have to do lots of spotting.

-Look! Can you see over there?

-What is it?

It's the baby swans! It's the cygnets! Can you see them?

Yes! And they're with their mummy and daddy, aren't they?

They're all fluffy, aren't they?

Jelly, can you see anything that I can look at through my binoculars?

Look! Look over there! What are those yellow flowers?

-That's marsh marigold, that is!

-Oh!

-They're related to buttercups.

I love buttercups!

If you look up in the sky,

can you see the house martins scooting about?

Yes, I can see them!

-There's a cormorant flying by in the sky.

-I saw it!

-I saw it!

Oh look, it's the baby coots!

There's mummy and daddy there as well!

-What can you see?

-I saw it!

-I saw it!

THEY LAUGH

It's so much fun!

The riverbank is the perfect spot for a picnic, isn't it?

-What's your favourite animal, Finlay?

-I like seeing the ducks!

We did well spotting them.

I think we should have some cake to celebrate!

Off you go, tuck in!

BUZZING

It looks as though all the flies have come to join us, as usual!

They're all over the place!

Ha! Silly flies!

And now the flies have buzzed off, it's time for me to buzz off too!

Thank you very much for taking me on your boat down the river!

BOTH: Bye-bye, Jelly!

This is special reporter Jelly reporting for Green Balloon Club,

all about the wildlife that lives by the river!

And I've enjoyed a tasty picnic too.

Back to you in the Green Balloon! Up, up, and away!

# What a difference a day makes

# 24 little hours

# Brought the sun and the flowers

# Where there used to be rain

# My yesterday was blue, dear

# Today I'm a part of you, dear

# My lonely nights are through, dear

# Since you said you were mine

# Oh, and what a difference a day made

# And the difference is you

# Is you... #

-Do you know what this is, Lily-Rose?

-A wormery!

-And do you know what's inside it?

-Worms, of course!

That's right! Do you know what they're doing?

Mmm...no.

They're working away at our vegetable scraps to make compost.

Would you like to see them?

Maybe...

Mmm.

There.

Ooh, it stinks. Look, Ant, I found one!

It's a red one.

You're right!

-Is it worm poo?

-No, Lily-Rose, it's compost!

I think I'm going to wash my hands.

Oh no! She still doesn't like mud.

In the far north of Britain, along the west coast of Scotland,

there's a very secretive and lovable creature that lives by the sea.

I'm an otter, and this is my baby cub!

My baby otter cub is only nine months old,

and already she is almost as big as me!

She is also very playful.

For the next few months or so, she'll stay very close to me,

so I can teach her how to fish for our food!

We go everywhere together, and we are always side by side.

I know all the best places for finding fish.

Look how I dive. I use my long tail like a rudder to swim underwater.

My cub watches every move I make.

It's not long before she catches her own fish!

We use our paws to hold our supper tightly.

Trying to hold on to slippery fish is no easy job!

When we're not fishing, we like to groom each other.

It's important to make sure our fur is in tip-top condition.

In the cold water, our special fur coat keeps us warm and snug.

We have an outer layer of fur that gets soaking wet.

Yet underneath, we have thick, dense fur that stays nice and dry.

That's how we can swim in the sea, no matter how cold it is.

Amazingly, we hunt for fish even in the most stormy of weathers.

We have to, or we would go very hungry.

In the next few months, my cub will be old enough to fend for herself,

and she will find a new home along the coast.

Until that time, I'll raise my cub.

I'll teach her all the skills to become a grown-up otter.

Maybe she'll form her own family!

As the sun goes down, there's time for one more dip in the sea.

See you!

Otters are really amazing, aren't they? Have you ever seen one?

No, they're pretty rare.

I bet they like the mud.

Yes, I'm sure they do. They live by the water in quite muddy places.

I wonder if we asked Sky if she'd let us play with some mud?

I'll go and ask her!

I've found some Green Balloon Club members!

-Is it the mud festival?

-It doesn't look muddy down there.

BOTH: Hello!

-BOTH:

-Hello!

BOTH: Hello!

This week, we're spotting elderberries!

Let's get spotting!

Elderberries grow in little bunches, on elder trees and bushes.

They grow along paths and streams.

The leaves on elder trees have jagged edges.

The berries come in the autumn!

They're green, and then light purple and then dark purple.

The green ones aren't ripe, but the purple ones are!

There is a seed in each berry.

Birds and other wildlife like to eat them.

The seeds can grow into new elderberry trees.

It's very important not to pick any berries or eat any berries

unless a grown-up says it's safe.

So, remember the clues!

The elder tree has jagged leaves.

The berries grow in the autumn.

And they are dark purple when they ripe.

Now, why don't YOU spot some?

BOTH: Bye!

Bye!

And thanks for this week's Spot!

If you manage to spot some elderberries where you live,

you can earn a green star for your scrapbook!

You can find all our Spots on our website.

But first, to get on to our website,

you need to know the secret picture password,

and this week, we've got a choice between the otter and the duck!

And which one would you choose?

I think I'll try...

..the otter.

There!

And once you're here...

you can look at this section for this week's Spots!

You can watch the Spot again, and once you've spotted it,

you can add it to your online scrapbook!

ALL: We're ready!

Ta-da!

Now here's some mud that you CAN play with.

-JAY:

-But Sky, it looks like clay.

It is clay! Clay is a kind of mud from out of the ground.

-Are we going to some modelling?

-Yes!

-Great!

Right, now, everybody take a lump.

And put it down.

Make sure your hands are nice and wet.

And then smooth it into a big sausage shape.

And what we're going to do, is we're gonna make some seals.

So we need to make them a bit long.

-This is fun!

-It's all slippery and gooey.

-It's fun, isn't it?

Don't you want a go, Lily-Rose?

OK, everyone grab a knife.

And let's make some fins on the tail by just cutting the back like this.

It's lovely and gooey and messy.

-I like this because if you make a mistake, you can rub it out.

-Exactly!

It's so fun!

I'm gonna try and make a bit more of a shape for its head.

I'm going to lift the head up so they can look up a bit...

You really push it on, cos it's so slippery!

-We should give ours a face, shouldn't we?

-Yes.

Yours is looking really good, Jay.

Thanks, Sky.

And we're gonna give it a cute little nose.

And they've got whiskers as well, don't they?

I think I should make some flippers so that my seal can swim.

So we'll give it two cuts here...

Do the flippers have any patterns on?

You could put some on yours if you like.

That's a good idea.

Whoops!

Very messy!

THEY ALL LAUGH

It's so gooey!

Seals have holes in their heads so they can hear,

so I'm gonna give mine some.

That's a good idea, Jay.

Lily-Rose, would you like a go?

Maybe.

-HORN

-Oh! I think we must be there!

LILY-ROSE: I'll go!

It is! It is! It's the mud festival!

And I spy some Green Balloon Club members!

-BOTH:

-Hello! Hello!

Hello!

-BOTH:

-Hello!

Today we've come to the Wetlands Centre at Llanelli

to take part in the Mud Festival.

Come on, let's go and have a look!

'There's so much to see and do here.'

-BOTH:

-Like welly-wanging!

'And mud sculpting.'

'Mud is soil that is soaked by water.'

We decided to take part in a mud safari.

We need to follow the flags.

Look, there's lots of mud here!

'It is important for plants

'because they get their food and water from the wet soil.

'I wonder if we'll spot any animals lurking in the mud?'

He's tickling me! He's tickling me!

'These are mud flats.

'They are very important for wildlife that lives here.'

'The mud provides food for the worms and shellfish that live there.'

Look, I found a crab!

'But it's not good for us to eat.'

'We've found a baby, a live crab.'

I've found some closed cockle shells.

You must always be with an adult.

Can't wait to get muddy!

-It's squidgy!

-And sticky!

What are you making?

A mud ball to chuck at you!

'Today our parents have let us get this muddy.

'Remember to check with them first.'

HE LAUGHS

Look at your face! It's so muddy!

It's nearly time for us to say goodbye.

Not before we've had a go at mud sculpture!

We've built the Green Balloon!

Thanks for visiting us today!

-BOTH:

-Goodbye!

Bye-bye!

-That looked like such fun!

-I love mud!

-So do I!

-Lily-Rose, look at you!

I made a worm!

Lily-Rose, it's lovely!

But we'd better get you cleaned up!

There's no time for that now, because we're coming in to land!

And whenever we land, it's...

ALL: ..time for a song!

# Did you ever consider the miracle outside your window?

# Out in the fresh air Some rain and water

# A little sun will make you garden grow

# One magical tiny seed

# Will one day be food to eat

# Dig it

# Plant it

# Watering the seeds we sow

# Then we'll dig it

# Eat it

# Loving all the food we grow

# We've got beetroot

# There's lettuce

# Carrots, butternut

# And tomato

# From the earth to the table

# Full of vitamins, we love them so

# If you don't have a patch near you

# A window box or a pot will do, so

# Dig it Plant it

# Watering the seeds we sow

# Then we'll dig it Eat it

# Loving all the food we grow

# Dig it

# Plant it

# Watering the seeds we sow

# Then we'll dig it

# Eat it

# Loving all the food we grow

# Deep down the roots will grow

# Some green fingers it will show

# Dig it, plant it

# Watering the seeds we sow

# Then we'll dig it, eat it

# Loving all the food we grow

# Then we'll dig it, plant it

# Watering the seeds we sow

# Then we'll dig it, eat it

# Loving all the food we grow. #

ALL: Bye!

Thanks for coming to fly with us today!

Perhaps you could do some modelling with clay!

And see if you can get all muddy!

ALL: See you next week! Bye!

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