Episode 22 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, I'm happy you're here. Come on in.

ALL: Hello!

-Welcome to the Green Balloon Club.

-Do you like going to the woods?

Today, that's where we're heading because we're wild about woods!

But first we better take the register.

Lily-Rose?

Lily-Rose is wild about woods!

Aren't we all?

Great. Ant?

Ant is wild about woods!

Great! Now it's Cat.

Cat is wild about woods!

That's good. Is Skipper wild about woods too?

Skipper's wild about woods!

Oh yes, I think she is.

Now it's me.

Jay's...

wild about woods! Arrrgggh!

Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!

Ohhhh!

LAUGHTER

Now it's Sky.

Sky is wild about woods!

So she is.

And what about you? Are you wild about woods?

Join in with us.

ALL: Wild about woods!

Great! Everyone's present and correct and wild about woods.

Shall we do the club chant?

ALL: Yeah!

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!

We should be nearly there now.

-Have a look, Ant, and see if you can see the woods.

-OK.

We are! We are! I can see trees down below.

-Can you see our special reporter?

-I can - it's Ralph.

ALL: Hello, Ralph!

Hello!

Can you tell us more about it, Ralph?

I sure can, Ant.

I'm in this fantastic event called Wild About Woods

and everyone is completely wild about woods!

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

What we can do is pencil and paper-making -

even apple-bobbing!

I've two friends - Mark and James.

Let's see what they say. Mark?

I can't wait to make charcoal pencils - it'll be totally cool.

I think that'd be fun. How about you, James?

I can't wait until pencils, I just can't!

That's really good.

I'll check out all these events and report back soon.

Back to the Green Balloon.

I love the way you've done these leaf-decorations,

they're so clever.

Well, Sky did help me a bit.

We've received other autumn pictures

from other Green Balloon Club members.

Is there room to hang them up?

I'm sure there is room. Let's see the pictures.

Well, this one's from Kinsa.

I really like the hedgehog and the squirrel.

I like the tree and the leaves.

And I like this one from Matthew.

Because I like the way how he's put a person in and the roots of the tree.

I like the way he's done the nice shining sun.

I really like this one from Davy, the hedgehog and the tree.

And I like the tulips and the grass.

Yes.

And I like this one the best of all, from Zara,

the squirrel and the red juicy apple.

Oh, I could just eat it!

I like that too, Lily-Rose. Shall we hang them up?

Yes.

Special report! Special report!

That's Jelly with her special report. Where is she today?

Hello, Jelly!

Oh! Oh!

Ha-ha!

I'm in Bill Oddie's garden!

I just love bird-watching in your garden, Bill.

Because you put out food for the birds.

That's right. Especially this time of year,

when it's cold and there's not so many insects and berries,

it's a really good idea to feed the birds.

You know, Jelly, I was thinking of making a brand new feeder

which I think you might like. Do you fancy that idea?

-Oh yes!

-Shall we?

-Let's go, come on!

-Wait for me!

Are we going to feed them grapefruit, Bill?

We might give them a little bit of the grapefruit but not really, no.

We're going to take out the middle

and we're going to use the outside to make our feeder.

-You need something to do, don't you?

-Yes.

-You see in this bowl?

-Yes.

-That white stuff is called lard.

-Oh?

-And it's a kind of fat.

-But I thought fat was bad for us?

It is if you eat too much, but it's good for birds.

It gives them energy over winter.

-Oh.

-And it keeps them warm.

What I want you to do is take a spoon -

-you're going to have to stir these seeds into the lard.

-Mmm.

-So I'm going to put some of those in.

-Right. How many seeds?

Something like a cupful.

There you go. You stir all that in.

Right. I'm going to take this bit which was like a lid -

I'm going to cut out two round bits - make them nice and round -

and there we are, put a little hole through them.

Now, do you see these little things?

But Oddie, they're so sweet!

Sweet? Well -

I'm not sure they taste sweet - they might smell sweet.

Have a sniff.

-They smell all spicy.

-Spicy, that's the word!

-What are they called?

-They're called cloves.

Cloves.

I'm going to put a couple of holes in here -

-one little hole there...

-Yes?

..and then I'll put the cloves through there

and another little hole there and another little clove...

What's it going to be?

What? Well, you tell me.

-I don't know.

-You think it could look like eyes?

-Yes! That's what I was going to say!

-It might be.

-They might be eyes.

It might be eyes.

The next thing to do - see this pineapple?

Some of the leaves at the top are loose.

I want you to pull out the leaves that are loose, give them to me

and you'll see what I'm going to do soon.

I need to get back to making a mouth.

-I need to pull out the leaves.

-More little holes and cloves.

-A mouth?!

-A mouth, yeah. That means it must be a person of some sort.

Next thing we're going to do -

I better do this because it's difficult -

I'll roll this up into a big ball.

It's like a cake, isn't it?

-Then you put it in the grapefruit?

-I'm putting it in the grapefruit.

-That's clever.

-So it's absolutely full.

-Packed in!

-Packed in!

-Ohh!

-There we are.

Now, do you have any idea what this is yet, Jelly?

-I really don't know.

-Come on, look at it closely.

-I still don't know, Bill.

-You don't?

-No.

OK. Here's another last thing we can do.

I'm going to put these - I should have some little slitty bits here -

It's for hair! It's green hair, isn't it? It's somebody with green...

-Green what? Spiky hair, don't you think?

-With green spiky hair?

-It's not soft hair. And big eyes.

-Oh, oh, oh!

That look out at you.

-And sometimes look a little bit sad but not always.

-Yes! Um...

-Now do you recognise it?

-Yes, it's me, Bill! It's me!

-Is it?

Yay, yay, yes.

I think it just might be!

Mwah!

BILL LAUGHS I love it, Bill.

It is the best bird-feeder ever. I really hope the birds like it too.

I just love that bird-feeder.

-Thank you so much, Bill.

-It was a pleasure. It was good fun.

I enjoyed it.

Wow, it looks like you had fun with Bill, Jelly.

I'm now here at the charcoal pencil-making.

I wonder how they make pencils? Let me go and find out.

I've found Mark making pencils. Let's find more information.

OK then Ralph, what I'm doing - first we've got these sort of sticks,

we have to peel this bark off, like I'm doing now, with a peeler,

and then we're going to put them on a sort of big tray sort of thing

and then we're going to put the tray on the fire

and then when they come out, we'll make them into charcoal pencils.

It'll be fun when they turn out.

Great information. Now I'm going to move on to someone else to chat to.

I've just found Emily and Chris. Let's find out some more.

We're hollowing out elderflower branches to make pencils.

Then we put some charcoal in the pencil that we hollowed out,

then we can write with it.

Amazing! I wonder how they'll look? I'm off to find more people.

Just found some children who've made their pencils from this exact fire.

Let's see their pictures.

What have you made?

A cannonball with fire.

A cannonball with fire. Wow! And how about you?

A tyrannosaurus rex.

Wow. Look at yours! What have you done?

-A giraffe.

-Wow.

I've just finished and the pencils are amazing!

I'll see what else there is. Back to the green balloon.

When me and Skipper were in the woods,

he found something very interesting.

-Was it rabbits?

-No, it was kind of on a big hill with holes in it.

-Rabbit holes?

-No, it was too big for rabbit holes.

What was it then?

Skipper sniffed out a paw print. It looked kind of like this.

SKY LAUGHS

That's definitely not a rabbit print, is it?

-Well, I looked it up and I think it's a badger.

-A badger? Wow.

They do live underground in holes.

-Skipper was very excited.

-I'm not surprised - it's a badger!

Cat's Creatures.

It's winter.

And deep underground, under the oak tree,

lives one of Britain's most loved animals.

I'm easy to recognise since I have a long stripy face,

short stumpy legs and a bushy white tail.

I'm a badger.

We all live together with other badgers

in an underground home called a sett.

Towards the end of winter,

we get ready for our new arrival of baby badger cubs.

Baby badgers are tiny and are born with their eyes closed.

It's not long before their eyes open.

I suckle my cubs with milk, so they grow stronger day by day -

until they're ready to leave the safety of the sett

and explore the big wide world above ground.

By the time my cubs are 12 weeks old,

it's spring and the snow has cleared and the bluebells have flowered.

Like all badgers, I'm nocturnal,

which means they sleep through the day and come out at night.

But in the summer, badgers are awake in the evening while it's light.

Our first job of the evening is to collect some nice,

fresh, clean bedding, which I take underground into the sett.

We're very clean and tidy, you know.

Our favourite food is earthworms.

We use our great sense of smell and strong paws

to sniff out and dig for juicy worms.

Near to our sett is a river

and it's a great place to take my cubs to find juicy earthworms.

All of you, stay close to me, and no getting near the water!

As night falls and the moon shines bright in the sky,

my family of badgers take time out to do what badgers like best -

to have a good scratch and groom.

And as a new day dawns and the sun comes up,

it's time for us to go down underground

to the safety of our sett and have a good sleep.

Is that a badger you've drawn, Jay?

Yes. I thought we could make a picture for Cat and Skipper.

Will we paint it?

Well, as badgers are black and white,

I thought we could make a collage out of some newspaper.

First, we need to find some black bits.

How about you do the head and I'll do the body?

That's a good idea, Ant.

Have you ever seen a badger, Ant?

Hmm, yes. I saw it when I was on my way home.

I'd love to see one.

Do you know when badgers come out?

In the night because they're nocturnal.

Jay, what shall I use for the back?

Well, the back's kind of grey,

-so why don't you use some of this newspaper?

-OK.

-That's good.

-Thank you.

-You're doing really well as well.

-Thanks.

I do hope Cat and Skipper like it.

I think they will.

-Ant?

-Yeah?

Do you think a badger would be bigger or smaller than Skipper?

Hmm...I think...

that it would be a little bit smaller and a bit fatter.

Right.

There's an eye.

Jay, do you know what badgers live in?

Do they live in burrows?

No, it's called a sett.

Oh, right. There's another. Now just the nose to do.

There. I think it's brilliant.

-I definitely think Cat and Skipper will like it.

-Yeah.

Hey! There's Ralph with his next report!

Any sign of badgers down there?

No sign of badgers, I'm afraid.

But there's something you'll like.

We're at the paper-making stand. Let's find some children.

I've just found James and Carolina. Tell me what you're doing, James?

We are making lovely paper. I'll show you how it's done.

We have to stir the water to make more of this stuff called paper pulp,

dump it in the paper pulp water...

one, two, three and bingo!

This is looking pretty amazing. Let's see what happens next.

Wow, guys, what's happening here?

Now we have to take the frame off, put it about there,

and get this tissue...

..then we dump it on the paper.

Then what happens?

We flip it over and with this blue cloth,

we get the remaining water that was left and...

bingo!

-Now you've got your very own paper!

-Amazing!

Now I can go home and I've got my own pencil and paper made from wood!

I'm done here for today.

Ralph, reporting for the Green Balloon Club. Bye!

ALL: Bye!

# I'm picking up good vibrations

# She's giving me excitations

# Oom-bop-bop, good vibrations

# She's giving me excitations

# Good, good, good, good vibrations

# She's giving me excitations

# Good, good, good, good vibrations

# She's giving me excitations

# Na-na-na-na-na

# Na-na-na

# Na-na-na-na-na

# Na-na-na. #

I'm sure our badger's wild about woods.

Well, he's a wild animal and he lives in the woods.

So he must be.

We've got a badger on our website -

it might be the secret picture password!

-I think it must be.

-I like your collage.

Thanks. Can I put it up around here?

Only when you've helped me choose the picture password.

-We've got conkers or the badger.

-The badger, definitely.

All right then.

BOTH: Yes!

If you're going on our website this week,

the secret picture password is the badger.

What can you see there, Skipper?

Oh! I can see Green Balloon Club members!

It must be time for this week's Spot.

Spot of the Week!

BOTH: This week's Spot is a sycamore seed.

It comes from this big tree - the sycamore.

It's a beautiful dome shape and taller than a house.

Sycamore leaves are quite big.

Found one!

The seed has a special wing.

When we throw ours, it spins like a helicopter.

It goes round and round till it lands on the ground.

Here's how you can spot one.

It comes from this big tree - the sycamore.

The seed has a special wing.

When we throw ours, it spins like a helicopter.

BOTH: Now you find one!

Wheeeeee!

I've made some paper sycamore seeds from our website.

Wheeeeee!

You can find out how to make them on our website.

Or earn yourself a green star if you spot some real ones.

Before you look, hold on tight,

because we're coming in to land!

And whenever we land, it's...

ALL: Time for a song!

ALL: Ssh!

# Listen

# We're looking

# For a trail on the ground For a sight or a sound in the...

# Silence

# Something's hiding

# Something's smelling. #

ALL: Pooh!

# All the animals snuggled up Thinking nobody can...

# Find us

# We're looking for a hole where a mouse is sleeping

# We're searching underneath where a bug's been creeping

# Following the trail of food half-eaten

# What's that there under the tree? #

Ssh!

# Listen

# We might be missing

# A sign or a clue that can lead us all to who knows...

# Where or what

# We're looking for a branch where a squirrel is climbing

# Or underneath a flower where a snail's been hiding

# Following tracks to a nest or a warren

# What's in that hole in the ground? #

ALL: Ssh!

# Listen

# We're looking

# For a trail on the ground For a sight or a sound in the...

# Silence

# For a trail on the ground For a sight or a sound in the...

# Silence

# For a trail on the ground For a sight or a sound in the...

# Silence. #

Ssh!

# Listen

# Listen. #

Thanks for flying with us.

See if you spot a sycamore helicopter.

You could make one on our website.

You might get to see a badger.

-Or make a picture of one!

-See you next week!

ALL: BYE!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd