Durham Primary School children plant their own woodland on ‘Green Transformation Day’

Pupils at a Durham school are among thousands across the North East getting closer to nature thanks to a pioneering scheme run by the British Ecological Society.

Children from Laurel Avenue Primary School in Durham took part in a Green Transformation Day this month involving tree-planting, bird watching, and nature-based arts and crafts with teachers, ecologists, and volunteers taking part to highlight the ongoing work.

Every child planted a native tree to create a new woodland area in their school and got the opportunity to learn about the importance of native woodlands and the tree species they planted.

The day was part of the British Ecological Society’s ‘Connecting schools to nature in North East England’ project, which has been improving 10,000 school children’s connection to nature this year across 47 primary schools in disadvantaged and isolated areas across County Durham, North Yorkshire, the Scottish borders and the Pennines. 

The project has been opening the door to nature in school grounds through wildlife-friendly activities such as creating wildflower meadows, building hedgehog highways and installing insect hotels.

Camera traps have allowed children to discover and monitor the wildlife in their schools while an online portal offers the opportunity to track achievements and observe and learn about natural history.

Professor Philip Stephens of Durham University, who is one of the project partners, said: “Children in the North East of England have been shown to spend less time outdoors than anywhere else in the country and have limited opportunities to access nature. 

“At the same time, the region is one of  the least densely populated regions of England, leaving plenty of potential areas for nature regeneration and becoming a UK biodiversity haven.”  

The British Ecological Society, the oldest of its kind in the world, has also provided ecology training to teachers delivering workshops across the partner schools, as well as upskilling 44 volunteers who have been helping teachers to deliver biodiversity enhancements to school grounds.   

Funding for the project is allowing local primary schools to attract more wildlife to their grounds, improving outdoor education in the process.

The North East schools initiative is a pilot project and, if shown to be successful, is expected to be rolled out across the country.

Chris Jeffs of the British Ecological Society, who has led the project said: “A love of and connection with the natural world often starts with an inspiring experience. 

“In this project we provide opportunities for school pupils to really experience nature – and, importantly, to see how small wildlife-friendly interventions can lead to positive changes.”

The project is being delivered in partnership with citizen science organisation MammalWeb and engagement charity SMASH-UK and is funded by the UK government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund.

Other schools have also relished taking part.

Hannah Milne, a teacher at Willington Primary, County Durham, said: “The children have particularly enjoyed the online platform, learning how to spot mammals and using the footprint traps. 

“It’s given their outdoor learning purpose and their interest in nature has soared.”

Michelle Trotter, a teacher at Dunn Street Primary In Jarrow, said “This has changed the way our children look after our environment.

“Children regularly ask for the litter pickers and to look after our hedgehogs daily – they are excited to learn and to know more about the natural world.  

“The equipment has been amazing to use – I’ve shown camera trap images to the whole school and staff who were blown away with what we found.”