Place the microscope on a flat, stable surface, ideally near a window or light source.
Choose an area with a few different habitats, such as a path through a wood, a meadow edge and a damp hollow.
Gather field guides covering an area that interests you, such as poisonous, medicinal or edible plants and trees, or those used in natural crafts.
Gather a selection of items that represent different bird beak types, such as a spoon for a duck's dabbling bill, a straw for a hummingbird's nectar feeding bill, tweezers for a finch's seed cracking
Find a suitable pond with a safe spot to dip from, such as a wooden jetty at a nature reserve, ideally with plenty of plant life around its edges and within the water.
Before the session, pick a selection of large, non toxic leaves, such as sycamore, dock or burdock, and tear each one into several pieces, displaying the pieces of each leaf together as a puzzle.
Make a map of the community around your sit spot, including the sit spot itself, a neighbouring tree, and yourself.
Identify the tree species and look up its typical growth factor, the average increase in trunk diameter per year, which for common trees such as oak, ash, sycamore and beech is around one and a half t
Choose a location where birds are visible against open sky or a bright horizon, such as a park, wetland, woodland edge or garden.
Raise the magnifying lens close to your eye.