Schools

There are many ways you can make a difference for nature’s recovery in your school
grounds.

© Swift Boxes Being Installed at Malin Bridge School

If you need a little help to get you on that journey we hope our resources and toolkit
can help you. Please keep checking back as these will be continuously updated.

Help for connecting your school with nature

Our Schools, Education and Outdoor Learning team have dedicated staff that
can support and help you connect to nature both within your schools grounds and in
your local community.

The Schools, Education and Outdoor Learning team can offer

  • Support and advice on small improvements you can make in your school
    grounds. Email schools@wildsheffield.com for more information.
  • Staff to lead and support an education session either in your school grounds
    or at a local nature reserve.
  • Inset training is available once you have made changes and improvements within your school grounds to give staff the confidence in taking learning outdoors.

Quick actions for making your school nature friendly

As a teacher we know time and money are limited but there are some very easy changes you can make at very little cost or time.

Outdoor Learning school workshop
  • Hedgehog Friendly Campus – Universities, primary schools and FE colleges can help hedgehogs to thrive on their campus, with over 150 campuses registered across the UK. Read our case study here.
  • Create an area of Wildflowers to encourage a wide range of insects, butterflies and bees into your school grounds.  Our Take action for Insects Schools Pack  provides useful tips and ideas to do that.
  • Ponds are a haven for Wildlife all year round.  Consider if there is a safe space that you can install a pond. Our resources take you through step by step what to consider when creating a garden pond.  Please be aware of additional consideration if you are creating a pond in your school grounds such as the ages of the children and what access they will have.  It may need to be fenced off. 
  • If you don’t have an area available for Wildflower planting. Have you considered some raised beds or small pots?
  • Consider if there are areas you can install bird or bat boxes.

Nature friendly schools as learning resources

Don’t forget

All these improvements you make to your schools grounds are not just to benefit wildlife. They give you an additional resource to enable you to take learning outside with the added wellbeing benefits for everyone being out in nature.

30 days Wild

Did you know that in June each year The Wildlife Trusts run a national campaign to help you to kick start your journey and take action for Wildlife?

Sign up today to get your free resource pack.

Useful resources

Other resources you may find useful:

  • Learning through Landscapes is the national schools charity is dedicated to supporting schools and other educational providers to improve their school grounds. They provide Inspiration and design of outdoor environments to support children’s development.
  • What is your Carbon Footprint? Carbon Partners schools carbon footprint calculator is a tool designed to help in calculating the footprint of UK schools.
  • Keep Britain Tidy Eco Schools campaign: empowers young people to introduce and lead environmental actions and education in their school.
  • Free Resources to support outdoor learning are available from the Forestry commission. 

Funding to help schools become nature friendly

Funding often comes up as a barrier to getting things done in Schools, but there are lots of sources of funding you can apply for.

Please note: This is for information only and funding pot priorities may change. Please contact the relevant funding streams for more information.

  • Learning through Landscapes often have small grants available for schools to access (please check their website for more information and availability).  Currently they provide an outdoor learning grant fund with two elements – a fully funded outdoor learning training for staff and £500 of equipment for outdoor learning.
  • The National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Awards have a list of potential funders as well as hints and tips on fundraising and grants.
  • The Woodland Trust regularly give away trees to schools and community groups

Other potential funding streams:

Some ideas to help you on your journey:

If you come across other resources or information that you think might be helpful for other schools,  please let us know and we can add them to our Toolkit.

If you have made changes to your own school grounds and want to share them with others, we would love to see your photos and hear about your Journey.

Email schools@wildsheffield.com.