Episode 37 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. #

Oh, hello!

I'm just doing a bit of an experiment.

It's a kind of telephone. Let's see if it works.

Jay to control! Come in, please.

Control here. What is it?

It works!

Jay reporting from balcony. We have a visitor.

Come in, then.

Sure will. Over and out.

Come on in!

-ALL: Hello!

-Welcome to the Green Balloon Club.

Look, Jay's made a phone and it really works!

Can I have a go?

I know, perhaps we could use it to do the register. ALL: Yes!

Right.

First it's you, Lily-Rose. Make sure the string's tight.

Jay to Lily-Rose, are you receiving me?

Lily-Rose to Jay, receiving you loud and clear.

Lily-Rose, are you present?

Lily-Rose present. Over and out.

Jay calling Ant. Are you receiving me?

Ant to Jay, receiving you loud and clear.

But, Ant, are you present?

Ant present. Over and out.

Jay calling Cat. Are you receiving me?

Cat to Jay. Receiving you loud and clear.

But, Cat, are you present?

Cat present. Over and out.

Jay to Skipper. Are you receiving me? SKIPPER WHINES

Skipper says she's here. Over and out.

Now it's me.

Jay to Jay. Are you receiving me?

Jay to Jay. Receiving you loud and clear.

But, Jay, are you present?

Of course I am. I'm here!

Over and out.

So, I'm here.

Jay to Nature Chris. Are you receiving me?

Receiving you very loud and clear.

But, Nature Chris, are you present?

I'm here. Over and out.

Now it's you!

Jay to Green Balloon Club Members. Are you receiving me?

ALL: Green Balloon Club Members receiving you loud and clear!

But, Green Balloon Club Members, are you present?

ALL: We're here. Over and out.

Good, that's everyone present and correct.

-Then let's do the Green Balloon Club chant!

-ALL: Yeah!

# 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! #

Nature Chris, this is only a cup and some string. Why does it work?

That's a very difficult question, Lily-Rose.

You talk in this end and then a vibration

goes all the way down the string to the other cup.

But what is the vibration?

A vibration is kind of like a rhythm.

Like when you bang on a drum and it bounces a bit.

So our voices are banging in one cup and send the vibration

down the string along to the other cup?

Well, yes! That's pretty much exactly how it works.

# I'm picking up good vibrations

# She's given me excitations

# Oom, bop, bop, good vibrations

# She's given me excitations

# Good, good, good, good vibrations

# She's given me excitations

# Good, good, good, good vibrations

# She's given me excitations

# Close my eyes

# She's somehow closer now

# Softly smile, I know she must be kind

# When I look in her eyes

# She goes with me to a blossom world

# I'm picking up good vibrations

# She's giving me excitations

# Oom, bop, bop, good vibrations. #

Do you think when woodpeckers tap they're sending messages?

Yes, to let other woodpeckers know they're there.

Perhaps they're trying to attract a mate.

Look at me, aren't I handsome?

Or perhaps they're saying...

This is my tree! Stay away from my tree!

Sometimes they're looking for insects in the bark. Yum, yum, yum.

Yum! It's a good time to see woodpeckers now

as there aren't many leaves on the trees.

-TRUMPET PLAYS

-Sounds like a report's coming in.

Who is it?

It's Lucas, Tabitha and Xavier.

BOTH: Hello!

ALL: Hello!

Listen carefully.

-HAMMERING

-What's making this noise?

Let's go and find out.

We have to be quiet. Come on.

This is a good place to find woodpeckers.

It's difficult to spot them.

I see a bird but it doesn't look like a woodpecker.

We can hear it but we can't see it.

Look, there it is.

It's a Great Spotted woodpecker.

Haaagh.

The male has a red patch on his head

and it has a really long beak

and the rest of its face is white,

and its feet are sticking out, like this.

Cluck-cluck-cluck. There is one.

It's got sharp claws to cling onto the bark.

Over there.

They eat insects and seeds and nuts.

Birds.

It taps its beak on the trunk to attract a mate.

Why don't you listen carefully next time you're out and about

to see if you can hear one.

And if you do, you might be lucky enough to spot it.

ALL: Bye!

Ant to Lily-Rose. Come in, please.

Hello. What do you want?

Do you know a creature that uses a long string?

Um, give me a clue, please.

OK, then. It's quite small and you normally find them in most places.

I know, is it a mouse?

Mouses don't use long strings! Do you want another clue?

Yes, please.

OK, then.

It...uses its string to make a kind of trap.

I know, is it a fox?

No, it's much smaller than a fox and it has eight legs.

I know, is it a spider?

Spiders have eight legs and they make their webs with string.

-Yes, you're right. Would you like to make a picture of one?

-Yes, please!

-Come on then, meet me at the table.

-BOTH: Over and out.

-There you are.

-Hello!

Spiders are quite hard to draw, aren't they?

Yes, but we're not drawing a spider, we're drawing a spider web.

I've got a very good way of drawing one.

So, first of all, draw the web.

-Then across. It's a bit like a cross, isn't it?

-Yes.

Now it's going to be a star.

Now I'll draw some circles round.

Lily-Rose, you know like our cup phone,

-when someone speaks the vibration goes through the string?

-Yes.

When spiders are making their web,

they can hear the vibration of the web.

If a fly lands on the web,

the spider will hear the vibration and know if she's going to get food.

Wow, that's amazing!

But this doesn't look very good.

I know, Lily-Rose,

but that's because we haven't finished yet.

So, if you get your paint brush

and dip it in this paint, but not right to the top.

Just like that.

-Like that much?

-Yep.

Then if you go over it.

-There.

-There. That's amazing.

Cat, come and look at our magical spider web.

It's lovely!

-Would you like a spider to go on it?

-BOTH: Yes, please!

-I made it.

-Thanks.

It looks really sweet and not at all scary.

-Scary?

-Well, I am a bit afraid of spiders.

You don't need to be.

They're great little creatures once you get to know them.

All over Britain, there's a clever little creature

who catches his supper using a special silk web.

I'm a garden spider, welcome to my web.

Every morning I work to weave myself a spiral-shaped web.

I use it to catch little flies that fly into my web and get stuck.

The silk I weave is incredible stuff.

It's very tough and strong.

It's also elastic, like a rubber band.

Many people are scared of spiders, but don't you worry.

Very few spiders nip or bite.

Actually, we're very interesting and useful creatures.

If there were no more spiders,

the whole world would be swarming with flies.

We are useful because we eat the pest flies that eat garden plants

and farmers' crops.

So, if you're a gardener,

you should be very happy to see us spiders setting up home.

As well as garden spiders, there are lots of other kinds of spiders.

Many other spiders use their silk in different ways.

Some use their silk to make a home.

Some use silk to keep their baby spiderlings safe.

Some use their silk to wrap up their eggs.

Some use theirs to wrap up food.

Spiders come in all shapes and sizes.

There's even a spider that can float on water.

I think you'll agree that spiders

are really very clever and useful creatures.

So, next time you see a garden spider, don't be scared.

I'm not so bad, after all.

I love that the baby spiders are called spiderlings. A great name!

Skipper, it's time to check out this week's password.

It's between the spider and the dolphin.

Hmm...that's interesting.

Dolphins use vibrations in the water to communicate.

They make special vibration sounds in the water.

Which shall we choose, spider or dolphin?

-DOG WHINES

-The dolphin? OK.

You were right! I love dolphins, don't you?

Special Report!

Jelly has a special report. Where is she today?

This is special reporter Jelly, reporting for Green Balloon Club.

I'm here on the Moray Firth, in Scotland!

Yes, and it's the furthest away place I've ever been to before.

We're going to meet some of my friends, by the sea.

If we're lucky we might see some of their special animal friends.

So, come on, let's go!

Hello!

-Hello, Finlay and Joseph.

-Hi, Jelly.

-Hi.

-Hello, Miss Sky.

-Hello, Jelly.

-What are you all looking at?

-We're looking for Nevis and Sundance.

-Who're they?

-Dolphins.

-Ah! Dolphins?

You're looking for dolphins?

I'm so excited, I've never seen a dolphin before.

Come on, come on.

-Aah, the beach is so pretty, isn't it?

-Yeah.

But there's so much sea, I don't know how we will see the dolphins!

Well, we just have to look very carefully.

What else can we see to make us know we've spotted dolphins?

Look for a really pointy nose, like this.

-Oh.

-We have to look for a pointy fin, like a shark.

-Huh!

And two pointy-like flippers.

Dolphins really like diving in and out of the water, don't they?

-They only leap out.

-Huh! They leap out!

Yeah, they're like a circle in the water.

-They only do that.

-Like a curve.

-You could take a closer look with us on the boat, Jelly.

-Ah, a boat!

I would love to go on a boat! Come on, then. Let's go.

That's Sarah, she drives the boat.

Na-ha-ha!

-Here we are on the boat, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-We're spotting dolphins?

-Yeah.

Joseph, you look that way.

And, Finlay, you look that way.

I can see a dolphin's fin.

-Can you?

-Yeah.

-Where? Point it to me.

There.

-There's a dolphin.

-Look, they're really close, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-It's amazing!

-Yeah.

I can't believe it.

Oh, hello!

Oh, wow - dolphins!

Thank you so much for letting me come on your boat

-and introducing me to your dolphin friends.

-That's OK, Jelly.

-That's OK.

-Thank you very much.

We will never forget them, will we?

-No.

-OK, I've got to go now, so bye-bye and see you soon.

-Bye.

-Bye.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

Back to you in the green balloon. Up, up and away.

# Splish, splash, I was taking a bath

# All about a Saturday night, yeah

# Rubbed up, just relaxing in the tub

# Thinking everything was all right

# There was Lollipop, Peggy Sue

# Golly, Miss Molly was even there too

# Well, splish, splash I forgot about the bath

# I went and put my dancing shoes on, yeah

# I was rollin' and a strollin'

# Realin' with the feelin'

# Movin' and a groovin'

# Splishin' and a splashin'

# Hey, yeah!

# Yes, I was a splishin' and a splashin'

# I was rollin' and a strollin'

# Yeah, I was movin' and groovin' Woo!

# I was reeling with the feeling Ha!

# I was a rollin' and a strollin' Movin' with the groovin'

# Splish, splash, yeah

# Mmm, splishin' and a splashin'

# One time, I was a splishin' and a splashin', woo-whee

# I was movin' and a groovin'

# Yeah, I was splishin' and splashin'. #

I wish I could swim like a dolphin.

Me too. I love the way they jump about in the water.

But why do they do that, Cat?

I don't know, perhaps they just enjoy it.

TRUMPET CALL I spy Green Balloon Club members.

It must be time for the Spot of the Week.

This week's Spot is... the primrose.

Let's get spotting.

-Here's some.

-Here are some clues to help you find some.

It is a small plant, as tall as your hand.

The primrose is usually a creamy yellow colour.

The leaves are egg shaped.

-The leaves look like they've been crumpled.

-Yeah.

The leaves look like a turtle's skin.

The flowers are each on separate stalks.

They go into a tube shape.

This flower has five cream petals and a yellow part in the middle.

And inside is the nectar.

Only long-tongued insects can reach the nectar, like bees and moths.

So, remember the clues.

It's usually a creamy yellow colour.

The leaves are egg-shaped.

And it grows about as tall as your hand.

-So, now why don't you get spotting?

-ALL: Bye!

Did you know "primrose" means "prima rosa"

-in a type of language called Latin?

-What does "prima rosa" mean?

It means "first rose",

as the primrose is one of the first flowers of spring,

though it isn't actually a rose.

That's very interesting, Lily-Rose. So, keep a lookout for a primrose.

If you spot one you get a green star.

We better hold on tight, we're coming in to land!

-And when ever we land, it's...

-ALL: Time for a song!

# Make believe that I'm a mermaid in the water

# Floating with more creatures than you've ever seen

# Past the cockles and the crabs and baby lobster

# It's like I'm living in some kind of aqua dream

# Starfish twinkle on the shore

# Hold my hand and we'll explore

# Here we are with all our friends deep under water

# Hear the silence in a world of blue and green

# Swimming around with all the creatures under water

# Let's go under the sea

# And see what we'll see

# Swimming out to sea, I'm playing with a dolphin

# Passing whales and seals that smile and say, hello

# Look out for jellyfish, be careful where we're going

# A hungry shark might just be waiting down below

# Ocean's beautiful and wide

# So much life beneath the tide

# Here we are with all our friends deep under water

# Hear the silence in a world of blue and green

# Swimming around with all the creatures under water

# Let's go under the sea

# And see what we'll see

# Let's go under the sea. #

Thanks for coming to fly with us today.

See if you can spot a primrose.

Or a woodpecker.

-Perhaps you could be a dolphin.

-You could spot a spider.

-See you next week.

-ALL: Bye!