Page 12 - Summer Term One, Eco-Schools Newsletter - English

Nature and Us
Nature is so important to our
wellbeing, the need to protect it
is greater than ever. Our friends at
Natural Resources Wales are running a
national initiative, ‘Nature and Us’ to
hear what you have to say about the
future of Wales’ natural environment
and how we tackle the climate and
nature emergencies.
No Mow May
Plantlife’s No Mow May campaign
doesn’t ask you to do much. In fact, it
asks you to not do anything at all…
Just lock up your lawnmower on May
1st (or ask ground maintenance to
leave an area uncut for the month) and
allow the wildflowers in your lawn or
parts of your school grounds to bloom,
providing a feast of nectar for our
hungry pollinators.
Save the date! - 24 May 2022
Eco-Schools Wales are partnering with
Plantlife to bring you a fun filled, interactive
virtual pupil workshop for KS2 pupils,
exploring just how important flowers are to
wildlife.
For information and to sign up click here.
Gardening in school
We asked Mrs ap Hywel
from Ty’n Y Wern Primary in
Caerphilly to tell us about some
of the benefits growing food
brings their pupils…
This is a great initiative for schools to
share their thoughts and opinions. “We garden at the allotment
Click here to get involved! at least once a week in all
weathers and throughout the
year. We have seen numerous
benefits to these sessions including:-
• The children see where food comes from. They have the opportunity to grow,
cook and eat their own food.
• The children are physically active in the outdoors which is good for their
physical health as well as their mental well-being.
• Children who struggle academically often excel at the allotment, having a
Be sure to use this area as a resource natural flair for gardening.
for outdoor learning, to explore what • We award a trophy to the best gardener of the week and this has really
wildlife are attracted to the area and worked to improve pupil’s levels of confidence and self-esteem.”
work out your “nectar score” (which
will tell you how many bees your lawn The pupils clearly enjoy being a gardening school…
can feed). “I love digging as it gets rid of all my energy and is fun.” - Finley, aged 9.
“I get excited to see the veg grow and harvest it.” - Zack, aged 11.
And some tips for any schools wanting
to give growing their own a go?...
“Some easy things to grow are
potatoes (can even be grown in
buckets), lettuce, radish, broad
beans and spring onions. We have
also made seed bombs to create a
wildflower area for pollinators. The
children really enjoyed making and
throwing these.”