The Mall Nursery and Creche in Luton have been completing wonderful environmental projects with their children. Focusing on the topic, ‘New Life, Plants and Insects’ children made bees and sunflowers using recycled materials, whilst discussing the important role bees play in sustaining all life on our planet. Children learnt that bees carry pollen to lots of different plants, helping new plants to grow. Then the fantastic Eco-Coordinator and staff members at the nursery, contacted management at the shopping centre they are based in, who agreed to fund and place beehives on the roof. Now the Eco-Committee regularly talk to their beekeeping friend who tells them what plants they should grow in nursery to help his bees help the world.

The Eco-Committee of practitioners and children at Greengables decided that the Biodiversity topic should be included in their Action Plan, with a particular focus on planting to improve their immediate environment.
First the Eco-Committee researched which herbs, vegetables and plants would be particularly enticing to butterflies and bees! They then learned about the best conditions to ensure their growth and survival, before finally planting in their raised beds!
The children loved the entire experience – seeing insect visitors, monitoring changes to the plants as they grew and even harvesting vegetables. This project has given children a sense of pride in their nursery and themselves, and has aided their physical development whilst providing an understanding of the world… it even helped their math’s skills as children counted shovel loads of dirt removed and replaced during planting!

Walmley Junior School organised a whole school Biodiversity project based on The Lorax by Dr Seuss, a story that focuses on the importance of looking after trees and animal habitats. During the project:

• Year 3 created bird feeders alongside instructions for how to grow a Trufula tree.
• Year 4 Learnt about how bees help our environment and then designed and created mini bee homes made from recycled materials.
• Year 5 went on a bird hunt, monitoring the amount and different types of birds that visited Walmley’s site, before making bird feeders to encourage even more visitors in the future.
• Year 6 learnt about human impacts on wildlife and created hedgehog homes to provide a safe space for small mammals.

On top of all this, trees were also planted within school grounds so that in years to come more pupils and wildlife can benefit from a calming green space. The project culminated in a tree party when all of the new facilities that had been created were installed across the grounds. Everyone at Walmley enjoyed celebrating nature and taking action to increase biodiversity in their school and local community.

The Eco-Committee at Collingwood Primary School knew that their school had substantial grounds, however, being located in a very urban area meant that even though their grounds were large, there was very little space for wildlife. As part of their Eco-Schools work, the Eco-Committee decided to remedy this and focus on the Biodiversity topic as part of their Action Plan. They dug up the border of their grounds and planted beautiful and colourful wildflowers which provide a sanctuary for wildlife and a calming and relaxing working environment for pupils and staff. Now, the Eco-Committee have plans to continue improving their grounds for wildlife, pupils, and staff members by growing sensory plants, planting trees, and creating even more wildflower areas. Collingwood are proof that no matter where your school is located, it can still be a haven for local wildlife.

At Thorner’s, the Eco-Committee are passionate about working on their school grounds and biodiversity targets. Whilst they were already proud of their grounds, they also realised they could do a lot more to make them safer and more attractive for both their school community and all local wildlife. Firstly, they cleaned and maintained their outdoor environments by hosting regular litter-picks and introducing new bins on site. They then focussed on boosting biodiversity, securing and planting ten metres of hedgerow on their field to create a chill out zone. Next a brilliant team led by an adult volunteer, along with the children, helped to maintain and responsibly conserve their 1600+ metre squared discovery area. This has involved rewilding, the creation of living borders and fencing alongside a wide range of planting. Thorner’s gardening club have also planted bee friendly flowers and seasonal veg in raised beds. Furthermore, their school also installed and maintain over a dozen bird feeders on site and have also bird and bat boxes, which sit brilliantly alongside their existing insect hotels. Everyone at Thorner’s is very proud of their progress but know they still have a lot to do!

The focus of St Mary’s Biodiversity Action Plan was to introduce and create new areas within their school grounds that would support a rich array of wildlife and provide new ecosystems for them. They created large raised beds and planted them with diverse plants to contribute to the overall biodiversity of their school’s outside areas.  Members of their Eco-Council researched plants that encompassed a range of characteristics, including different growth habits, sizes, colours and ecological roles. As a result, they now have plants that support a rich array of wildlife and provide a thriving ecosystem. They didn’t stop there though, they also researched and installed bird boxes, bat boxes, and bird feeders around the school to benefit wildlife conservation, promote ecological balance and provide enjoyment and observation opportunities for pupils.  The Eco-Council continues to monitor their use and hope they continue to attract birds, bats and diverse species, whilst providing safe habitats and supplemental food sources.

During the beginning of the summer term, the Eco-Warriors at Gatehouse School made a collective decision to plant herb seeds and flowering plants in pots in order to increase biodiversity at Gatehouse school, attract bees, and enhance the tranquillity of our designated area, thus creating a more inviting environment for children. Under the supervision of their dedicated Eco-Coordinator, the Eco Warriors planted and then diligently took turns watering the plants.

Subsequently, the Eco Committee, in collaboration with the Gatehouse Parents Association chairperson, decided to sell the plants at their annual Summer Fete. Alongside their plants, the Eco-Warriors seized this opportunity to showcase their artistic abilities by creating seed papers, plant fact files, bird feeders, and planters. Additionally, a popular attraction at the event was the ‘Hit the Litter’ game, which garnered much enthusiasm from our visitors. Furthermore, the year 4 Eco Warriors contributed to the festivities by organising a lucky dip consisting of pre-loved toys.

The Summer Fete proved to be an exceptional day for the Gatehouse Eco-Warriors, brimming with enjoyment and laughter. Visitors greatly appreciated the chance to purchase plants while also learning about various plant species through the informative fact files. Through this endeavour, £100 was raised, which will be allocated towards funding future eco-projects in the upcoming academic year.

The Eco-Council at Lutley Primary School carried out an evaluation of their school grounds as part of their Environmental Review, one of the areas that they felt needed improvement was their little Wildlife Garden and its pond. As a result, their wildlife team, ‘The Lutley Larks,’ spent an afternoon clearing the garden of litter and dead vegetation. At the same time, they created some desirable homes for the many frogs that have been spotted in the pond. There are clay ‘Frogitats’ that you can buy, but the team decided to research ways to make their own out of broken clay plant pots (they also decided this was a good way to reuse items for the Eco-Schools Waste topic). They lined and covered the broken clay pots with dead leaves and moss to make a perfect home for frogs. They later discovered that lots of frogspawn had been laid in the pond, so they hope that many frogs will take advantage of their new abodes!

The wildlife area in the school grounds at Woodfield Primary supports and enhances their curriculum throughout the year. They use the area as an alternative teaching space which contributes towards a healthy lifestyle for all those involved. The children love using the area as it gives them the opportunity to learn outside the classroom, engage with and understand nature. It also supports their mental health and well being. Their greenhouse, which was built by parent volunteers with plastic bottles supplied by the children, is used to grow plants for the wildlife area. This has helped to bring the school community together and given all involved a sense of pride, belonging and investment.

Children at Penshurst Primary School in Hessle decided to create a sensory area on their school field. This area intends to provide a calm and relaxing outdoor area for pupils, whilst also benefitting local wildlife. Using recycled materials (including old car tyres) flowers, herbs, vegetables and a gooseberry tree have been planted. This benefits both pupils and insects by providing lots of different sights, smells, touches and tastes to help them relax. Now, children at Penshurst are busy learning how to care for their plants and insect visitors. They have even decided to create a bug hotel, tadpole pond (see picture) and bird tables to encourage even more wildlife to enjoy their sensory area. Creating the sensory area was hard work, but both children and staff enjoyed every minute of it!

At Kingsley their whole school, including pupils and staff members, live by a concept called the ‘Earth Centre’ where they embed sustainability, environmentalism, and ecology into everything that goes on at school, from the curriculums that are taught to the way that they manage the school grounds and buildings. For this reason, the Eco-Schools’ Green Flag Award is right up their street. One of the topics they chose to work on for their most recent accreditation was Biodiversity. They did this because there was already a wonderful ‘no-dig’ permaculture ecology zone on site and they wanted to support and further grow this ecological perspective across the rest of the site. To accomplish this, they empowered students to come up with ideas as part of an Earth Centre Society. They chose to support a school wide tree planting effort where 3000+ trees were planted. Alongside this they, mapped the habitats and biodiversity support that were already deployed on site. This allowed them as a school to get a bigger picture of the biodiversity across their site and plan a strategy to support the areas that hadn’t been previously encouraged. This has seen the biodiversity and habitats across site flourish, along with a deeper understanding of them within the student body too.

As part of their biodiversity Colchester County High School for Girls worked with the Woodland Trust and planted 400 trees in a variety of areas, choosing the most appropriate locations so trees were planted to increase biodiversity, provide shade for student picnic areas and to reinforce the school’s boundary line. The school also run and maintain a wildlife sanctuary area, with pollinator species, a pond, feeders and bug hotels and have recently integrated a “playing field plants” survey into year 7 Geography fieldwork. Areas of the school grounds are also left to grow annually as part of no-mow May.

Pictured is the largest insect hotel in the world. Pupils of De La Salle and teacher Kieron decided to create a bug hotel in June 2019 as part of their Eco-Schools work. After researching bug hotels, they found out that the largest in the world was relatively nearby in Martine Mere nature reserve and measured in at 19 metres. They knew it would be a challenge to build bigger, but it could be done! Enlisting the help of their wider community (Step 5: Informing and Involving) they collected donations from parents, friends, local businesses and the council before beginning construction. In July 2020, their insect hotel was officially crowned the largest in the world by Guinness World Records.

GoalCo (The Golborne and Lowton Cooperative Learning Partnership Trust) is an education co-operative. On the Golborne High School Site, they created a wetland area on the site of an old hockey pitch as they wanted to attract wildlife in this disused space. They worked with a local company, who wanted to give something back to the community, who had agreed to help create the Wetland Area. With advice and inspiration from Wigan’s Healthy Lifestyles team and their Biodiversity Manager, the local company dug out the old hockey pitch and created a base for a hide. With money from the Wigan Deal and Brighter Borough Funding, GoalCo has also been able to secure a learning outdoor resource: a mobile classroom/hide where community groups can go to watch nature. Classes at Golborne love the area and so does their local community. Recently paths have been installed, meaning the area is now entirely accessible to all. Events that have taken place are pond dipping, den building, bug hotel creating and nature art lessons as well as (of course) nature watching.