Bransty Primary School
'Our pupils have shown so much more interest in and care for nature since undertaking this project. Getting hands-on and achieving something tangible has showed them that change is possible and anyone can do it!'
John Lee, Bransty Primary School
Nature is a big part of the curriculum at Bransty Primary School. A recent planting project saw pupils and the local community working together to bring more wildlife into the school grounds.
Here’s more from John Lee, the school’s Access and Inclusion Manager, and Forest School Teacher.
‘Bransty Primary School is hugely passionate about exposing pupils to nature as part of the curriculum. We hold Forest School sessions and provide bespoke eco-therapies, in the hope that we can instil a love of nature that will last a lifetime.
The pupils get six three-hour sessions in the Forest School each term. These include nature-based play, crafts and experiences on our school site, but we also aim to broaden their horizons by taking them off-site. We visit local woodlands and other places nearby that offer opportunities to discover different wildlife and habitats.
We also use the outdoors and nature as our safety net to help pupils and staff find pockets of time to talk, reflect and find peaceful opportunities to connect through our work outside.
In January 2022, the whole school was involved in a big piece of work to plant 1190 shrubs and trees around school grounds. All planting was done by our pupils (just over 700) and community volunteers – in just nine days! You can watch a short video about it here.
The project was instigated through conversations among staff about how we could improve the school grounds for nature and encourage more wildlife. We previously had some good pockets of nature, but not much habitat diversity. Inspired by local efforts to rewild at West Lakes science Park, we applied to be part of a tree-planting project run by Cumbria Woodlands and United Utilities.
Angus from Cumbria Woodlands visited the site to instruct us on what plants and shrubs were needed and made sure they were locally sourced. They had be hardy enough from seed to survive our Cumbrian cold snaps and strong winds. We planted oak, crab apple, beech hawthorn, cherry, apple, aspen, alder, chestnut, maple, birch, holly, hazel, rowan and bird cherry – to name a few!
To get the pupils involved, we ran Forest School sessions where they were taught to plant a small sapling, put a protective skirt around it and add mulch on top. And then we let them get on with it! It was amazing to see how quickly they learned and how invested they became in the planting.
We invited the wider community to get involved in two volunteer days, focused on planting 1200 hedging shrubs. Organisations like Whitehaven Harbour Youth project, St Johns Church and St Benedict's Primary School, as well as staff and families from our school, helped us to spread the word, and we were inundated with offers to help from across Whitehaven.
Our pupils have shown so much more interest and care for nature since undertaking this project. Getting hands-on and achieving something tangible has showed them that change is possible and anyone can do it!
They’ll take care of the trees going forward and we hope this act of stewardship will encourage them to maintain a high level of care and responsibility for nature as they move on from Bransty Primary School.
How to help wildlife at school
How to create a shrub garden for wildlife