Last modified on Thu 11 Feb 2021 06.03 EST
Winning tip: How old is this oak?
Noticing the enormous oak trees in the local woods started a conversation about how old they were. Arm-spanning the trunks to measure the girth (your arm span is the same as your height), we used this table from the Woodland Trust to work out their age. We began to talk about the events these trees had lived through and created stories about their lives. The planes that flew over in the second world war; the disappearance of the red squirrel and the arrival of the grey; how fashions and land use have changed since they were an acorn. Fuel for inquisitive imaginations!
Last modified on Thu 4 Feb 2021 06.03 EST
Winning tip: On the beach in London
London is an amazing city, but loses some of its charm when you find yourself confined to your too-small flat. In the first lockdown I found myself strolling the streets of Wapping one morning in an attempt to stave off cabin fever. Near Shadwell Basin I dropped off the Thames path on to a tiny sandy patch of foreshore where I sat for a while listening to the river lap and break over the rocks and watching the water glinting in the early-morning light. If it hadnât been for the offices of Canary Wharf on the skyline, I could have easily believed for a moment that I wasnât in the middle of a city in the grip of a pandemic.
Readers’ lockdown discoveries: 10 top tips Guardian readers
Winning tip: Light vessel fantastic
On a sandbank of the River Neath next to the wharf of a scrap-metal merchant lies an old rusted wreck, the salt air-bleached, twisted metal skeleton of this old ship is all that remains of LV72 light vessel. One sunny day during the first lockdown I was cycling on the towpath when I came across it just a few miles from my home. I went home and researched its history, which was rather astonishing as I found out the pivotal role it played in marking a mine-swept channel for D-day. Her code name was Juno.
Last modified on Thu 28 Jan 2021 06.03 EST
Winning tip: Light vessel fantastic
On a sandbank of the River Neath next to the wharf of a scrap-metal merchant lies an old rusted wreck, the salt air-bleached, twisted metal skeleton of this old ship is all that remains of LV72 light vessel. One sunny day during the first lockdown I was cycling on the towpath when I came across it just a few miles from my home. I went home and researched its history, which was rather astonishing as I found out the pivotal role it played in marking a mine-swept channel for D-day. Her code name was Juno.
Last modified on Wed 3 Feb 2021 12.58 EST
Winning tip: ‘I could be the person I am meant to be’
This is about my autistic daughter’s hobby. She’s nine, and since last March has become an avid birdspotter and photographer. It’s been great to be outside finding nature in the city, and to see her thrive and grow, walking to and exploring local parks. She’s now got an amazing mentor – wildlife artist and photographer Alfie Bowen – and has been winning competitions and had her photos published. She told me: “2020 was the best year ever … less stress because of less school, and I could be the person I am meant to be.” What more could a parent ask for?