Wildlife Learning

Turn your school into a haven for wildlife as part of the school curriculum and ethos

There’s no doubt that our children will be inheriting a world that is less rich in wildlife than when their teachers were kids. Insect numbers are spiralling down, as are hedgehog populations and some species of birds too. Schools - especially urban schools may have open space but for wildlife this represents a green desert. We believe that schools should be at the forefront of turning these trends around - but how?

We will shortly be launching a new service to schools aimed at habitat creation linked to learning across the curriculum. and expanding a school’s ethos to include nurturing and care for the local environment but in a targeted way. We can do this at a school ground without impacting on open space for play, PE, school matches and so on.

We can provide lessons will cover habitat creation, carrying out maintenance and integrating the new area as a resource across various lessons, topics and subject matter. Most habitat creation is grant funded or very cheap and easy to carry out. For example just stop mowing a peripheral strip on the school field which costs nothing!

Wildlife in need

Our focus will be on the areas of wildlife that are are most accessible for schools and our wildlife that’s the most at risk namely:

  1. Hedgerows for hedgehogs

  2. Wet Wildlife corridors

  3. Pollinating bees

  4. Caterpillars and Butterflies

  5. Bugs - other invertebrates

  6. Birds

Each of our 6 areas will have 3 phases:

  1. Habitat Creation

  2. Habitat Maintenance

  3. Habitat Learning

Its likely that our 6 areas will overlap for example with careful selection of tree species in a hedge you can support a wet wildlife corridor, provide pollinator habitat, bird habitat and so on.

Choosing several strands or a whole school approach is recommended but simply choosing one area to support will give wildlife and school learning a lift.

Lets take hedgerows for hedgehogs for example

This poor hedgehog was found out in the day - not a good sign so off to hedgehog rescue he goes.

Habitat Creation will involve creating a hedge either using free trees for schools from the woodland trust or other charity or community forest, laying/coppicing an existing hedge or carrying out local pruning to establish a dead hedge. The type of hedge and tree species will be agreed with the school on how it will be maintained (e.g. blackthorn if its mechanically maintained, going for a non thorny hedge/screen for nursery/reception and so on ). We will be creating a hedgehog house and feeding/water stations. And ensure hedgehogs can access the area by ensuring ground level access through existing fencing.

The design and strategy will be agreed and include checking constraints (such as utilities). We will seek to connect with offsite wildlife areas such as connecting wooded areas and help schools deal with other objectives such as security and screening.

Habitat maintenance will involve ensuring hedgerow trees establishment by hand weeding, adding mulch, selective pruning, watering in drought etc. Replenishing feeding and water stations. Providing bedding near homes. Hedge laying if appropriate and replacing tree loses.

Habitat learning. Planting involves some maths around spacing and measuring. Maintenance introduces concepts like nutrients and competition. As well as involving pupils in creation and maintenance the hedgerow provides several windows into certain topics such as habitats, hibernation and identification with keys. The hedgerow and hogs can be used as a backdrop to story telling and literacy objectives using books like Percy the Park Keeper or Brambly Hedge Books. A deep delve into hedgehogs can be topic based for life cycles. Its great fun to make miniature clay/pine cone hedgehogs and place them in the hedge as a sensory experience and develop motor skills. By fixing wooded coins to the hedge you can present a scale or timeline involving measuring, scale and multiplication. As with all natural materials the hedge will produce natural resources such as leaves, twigs, berries which can be used for forest school, counting, outdoor art, hurdle weaving and more. As nature colonises your hedge pupils will start to acclimatise to a more natural environment and observe birds nesting there.

How much will it cost?

Creation - Habitat Establishment Materials - Mostly free. Planning and establishment daily rate possibly grant funded (depends on the grant) as is planting lessons with pupils.

Maintenance - Daily rate possibly grant funded (depends on the grant) or delivery as daily rate

Learning - Daily rate and includes skill sharing with teachers/TA’s, incorporating topics within your scheme of work. Potentially this could be non contact time but we recommend staff are present for skill sharing as part of Continuing Professional Development.

Your school is unique so we agree an approach that works for your school and can give you a quote. Email rawdon@fairyforestschool.com

To be Continued

We want to give teachers and schools more information on our six areas of wildlife in need and our vision of what we can do for schools PLUS a whole school approach incorporating many of the features of forest school fire circle, den building, hammocks, story telling areas, outdoor classrooms which we can incorporate into habitat creation.

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