We were naturally very pleased to award Broxbourne Primary a grant to develop a nature/wildlife area within their school grounds. Amongst the many items that will bring the project to life are such wonderful things as insect hotels, hedgehog houses, minibeast grab and go kits, outdoor cushions and many different seeds and plants.
Headteacher, Paul Miller explained the project very well in his bid:
“We are fortunate to have a significant woodland/meadow area in our grounds. In order to use the grounds more effectively to accelerate the children's learning across all year groups, we need to maintain and improve the area. We would like to clear an area of the land which has become overgrown with brambles and plant butterfly and bee attracting plants, e.g. buddleia, lavender and wild flowers, such as poppies, scabious and birds foot trefoil. Improvements include adding bug hotels, hedgehog houses and bird boxes as well as planting trees and bushes, which demonstrate seed dispersal eg sycamore. The children would need clip boards, writing/sketching materials and cushions to sit on the existing benching. These would need to be housed in weatherproof storage. Once cleared our grounds maintenance team would be able to maintain pathways and borders as necessary and our eco-monitors, under the guidance of staff members, could water the trees, shrubs and flowers. We would like to install a rainwater collection point to make optimum use of natural water sources. Once all these resources are in place, we would like to add appropriate signage for the children to use to support their learning.”
Breakfast and after-school club children will also be involved in caring for the area as well as science being brought to life for every class. The project will be great value for money and certainly fills our longevity criteria.
As Paul says:
“Eco-monitors (children rotate to carry out this role so every child will have this opportunity at least once during their time in school), will water and care for the plants and shrubs, developing their self-confidence and sense of responsibility. The children throughout the school would be able to access the newly cleared area, rather than only being able to access wildlife areas during school trips.”