A notebook.
Your findings.

Up to six proposals of Cabeceiras, in your own order, to do it at home, in company or on a break.

3 de 6 propostas escolhidas · faça-as ao seu ritmo.

PROPOSTA 1 DE 3 · Travel through time

Try observing

Gondiães and Vilar de Cunhas · memory and landscape

A house with three granaries

At Casa de Chouzas, three 19th-century granaries stand alongside the manor house highlighted by the municipality. The group connects two functions: living and storing the harvest. Rather than looking only at the main house, it is worth recognising the importance of buildings supporting agriculture. The introduction to Vilar de Cunhas places this heritage in a landscape of plateau and mountain, shaped by farming and pastoralism. House and granaries can be read in that working context, although the source does not detail each property’s production. The house’s dating is less firm: the municipality presents it as perhaps 19th-century, while assigning the granaries to the 19th century. That difference should remain visible. The photograph accompanying the reading shows the portal, not the three granaries. The heritage reference does not confirm access to the group.

Vamos experimentar?

1. Look at the photo of the portal and list only the elements you can see.
2. Compared to the three granaries mentioned in the text: what depends on the written description?
3. Imagine a caption that distinguishes the frame of the photograph from the remaining patrimonial set.

An activity to try at your own pace, without collecting specimens.

Open a história e os seus recursos →

Sources of this proposal

• Municipality — Gondiães e Vilar de Cunhas, landscape, heritage and craftsConsultation/revision: 2026-11-07

My findings

An idea, a drawing or a question to go on.

PROPOSTA 2 DE 3 · Life you do not always see

Compare two faces

Badger · general biology

A home beneath the ground

The European badger, Meles meles, is mainly nocturnal and shelters in extensive underground setts. Two dark stripes on a white head are a striking visual clue; its short legs have strong claws. Museu Virtual da Biodiversidade describes its presence in woods, forests and farmland with vegetation. This profile explains the species in mainland Portugal; it does not document an observation in Cabeceiras de Basto. The claws are long and non-retractile: they do not draw back like a cat’s. A short, pale tail provides another contrast with a fox’s long tail. These details help compare descriptions without searching for or disturbing setts.

Vamos experimentar?

1. In the photograph, it follows the light and dark bands of the head and the contour of the body.
2. Compare the text with the image: the description of the claws and the den goes beyond what this framework shows.
3. Open the otter story and compare the snouts in the two photographs, keeping the contexts of each park separate.

The badger was photographed at the British Wildlife Centre in the UK. A daylight photograph in a park does not invalidate the description of the species' mostly nocturnal habits.

Open a história e os seus recursos →

Sources of this proposal

• University of Évora — Virtual Museum of Biodiversity: Meles melesConsultation/revision: 2026-11-07

My findings

An idea, a drawing or a question to go on.

PROPOSTA 3 DE 3 · Life you do not always see

Try observing

General biology · aquatic insects, without a local species inventory

Tiny shelters beneath the water

Caddisfly larvae live in water; many build shelters from sand or plant fragments. They form part of river and stream food webs, providing food for fish, birds and amphibians. The Tagis guide highlights their usefulness as ecological indicators. Finding one individual, however, does not certify water quality on its own. The submerged shelter is only part of the story. The adult has hairy wings and slender antennae, and holds its wings like a small roof over its body when resting. It may resemble a butterfly or moth, but those have scales on their wings. Adult caddisflies usually fly around dusk and live near freshwater bodies. There is no single menu for all larvae either: depending on the group, they may eat algae, plants, organic remains or other invertebrates. They are consumers and, at the same time, food for other animals. A food web describes these relationships better than a line assigning just one food to each species.

Vamos experimentar?

1. Observe the water from an accessible and stable margin.
2. Look for differences between sand, vegetable remains and small shelters without collecting them.
3. If you do not distinguish any, save the question for an accompanying activity.

An activity to try at your own pace, without collecting specimens.

Open a história e os seus recursos →

Sources of this proposal

• Tagis — Insects in Order, Odonata, dragonflies, dragonflies and friganiums (pp. 39–43 and 74)Consultation/revision: 2026-11-07

My findings

An idea, a drawing or a question to go on.