School grounds at Angel Road (credit: NWT)
School grounds advice
School grounds have the potential to be amazing spaces for nature, as well as for people.
Our advice aims to enhance the area around your school for wildlife, outdoor learning, and wellbeing. All aspects of the school grounds can be used to encourage wildlife, with some small changes. These small changes can be carried out by the pupils to encourage wildlife to thrive and to offer learning outside.
Below are some free downloadable resources to help you with improving your school grounds for wildlife, and your pupils’ learning and wellbeing. One resource in particular, which covers all these areas, is our new ‘Wilder Schools Toolkit’ – please see below for more details.
Wilder Schools Toolkit
As part of the development of our Wilder Schools programme, we have created the Wilder Schools Toolkit, which provides straightforward ideas, activity plans, and information to support schools and other settings in implementing changes to benefit children and wildlife in their grounds. The toolkit is divided into the three pillars of the programme: actions for wildlife, wellbeing activities, and curriculum-linked activities. This pack is free to download and use, whatever your setting!
Download the Wilder Schools Toolkit
Additional resources
Please see below for additional resources on making space for wildlife in school grounds, activities to carry out with your pupils, and Wildlife Watch resources for educators:
Making space for wildlife
Activities
Mile Cross Primary School (credit: NWT)
Advice visits
Depending on our availability, we may be able to come out to your school to carry out an advice visit. Our staff will look at the whole school grounds, giving advice on how to improve the area holistically, in a prioritised and realistic way. Providing advice on the whole site prevents small, isolated developments from occurring which can later seem located in an inappropriate area. Advice will be based on the following aspects:
Planting
We encourage the planting of native species which are good at encouraging pollinators and attracting subsequent wildlife.
Management
Small changes to the maintenance of the school grounds can have a significant benefit to wildlife.
Pond
Having water on site is one of the best things you can do for wildlife. We will provide advice on how to manage your school pond to maintain a healthy habitat, which can also be used to teach children about freshwater invertebrates.
Pupil activities
Many of the changes you can make in your school grounds can be made by the children themselves and can be linked to the curriculum. We will provide advice on what activities might be appropriate for children to get involved in and how benefits can be maximised for wildlife and children alike.
If you are interested in booking an advice visit, or have any queries about how you can improve your site for biodiversity, please get in touch at educationenquiries@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk