improving school grounds for biodiversity and education

Improving school groundsfor biodiversity and education

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Published winter 2011/Cyhoeddedig Gaeaf 2011

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Background to the Biodiversity in Schools Project....................................................4

The Pilot Project .................................................................................................................6

The Finances and Implementation....................................................................................9

Case studies Fairoak Nursery School .............................................................15 Millbrook Primary School .................................................16-17 Langstone Primary School .......................................................18 Maesglas Primary School .........................................................19 Milton Junior School ...........................................................20-21 Bassaleg School (secondary)..................................................22

Additional Work in the Project.........................................................................................23

Project Outcomes and the future ....................................................................................29

Project set up flow chart.....................................................................................................33

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Contents of Report

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It has long been recognised that access to astimulating outdoor environment can have asignificant positive impact on pupil behaviour,development and learning. Research drawn togetherin the RSPB’s report Every Child Outdoors (2010)and the National Trust’s Natural Childhood report(2012) highlight the diverse benefits for children ofcontact with nature and outdoor experiences.Thesebenefits include positive impacts on education,physical health, emotional wellbeing and personaland social skills, including the development ofenvironmentally responsible citizens.

In Wales, the introduction of the Foundation Phase,the promotion of Education for SustainableDevelopment and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) andthe re-emergence of a more experiential approach tolearning at all levels have placed the outdoorclassroom at the centre of educational theory andpractice at all stages of education.

The Foundation Phase in particular promotes aholistic, experiential and skills focussed approach toteaching and learning - integral to this is astimulating and interesting outdoor space.

The Eco Schools programme, Forest Schools andHealthy Schools initiatives have all contributed to arenewed focus on the outdoor environmentthroughout the whole education system. Schoolsnow have a certain amount of pressure on them todevelop their grounds to support the variouscurriculums and initiatives that they are involved in,and recent years have seen a surge in schoolsgrounds development and outdoor education ingeneral.

This report explains the processes and mechanismsthat Newport City Council put in place in order todeliver the additional requirements of the curriculumand address the increased interest in the outdoorenvironment and the educational benefits it canbring.

Developing the Newport Model

Assisting with the delivery of environmentaleducation had for a number of years been on an adhoc basis throughout Newport City Council. Serviceareas such as Grounds and Countryside had a broadremit for environmental education and awarenessraising, however, this was not part of a formalService Level Agreement (SLA) with Education. Prior

to 2007, a number of schools in Newport hadrequested nature gardens within their grounds, and asmall number of these had been delivered by theCountryside Team using Countryside Council forWales (CCW) grant funding. However it was clearthat at a time when schools really needed assistancewith developing the potential of their grounds, therewere limited resources to help them deliver this.

As a result of this, individual schools were trying todevelop their grounds independently, very oftenunsure about what they wanted and how to do it tomake the best use of their available grounds. Therewere also numerous reports of meadows and youngsaplings mown down by maintenance teams afterschools created areas themselves but didn’t informthe right people. This lack of communicationbetween schools and their maintenance teams led toproblems such as a site being inadvertently restrictedfor certain machinery or installation creating a lot ofunnecessary maintenance work and increased costs.It was also common for areas and projects to failonce key members of staff were lost.

Background to theBiodiversity in Schools Project

“Children’s knowledge of biodiversity is in decline at a timewhen we need future generations to be more engaged andaware in order to halt its loss. This highlights a very realneed to educate our children as the future guardians of ourplanet, to provide them with the knowledge they needtoday to preserve the natural world for tomorrow.”

Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary for the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) in response to a surveyconducted in 2009

“The Foundation Phase environment should promotediscovery and independence and a greater emphasis onusing the outdoor environment as a resource for children’slearning.”

Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7-year-olds inWales (2008)

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Due to all the various elements driving schools toenhance their school grounds, CCW requested a newapproach. Newport City Council (NCC) reviewed howbest this could be delivered across the authority atsites with different constraints. Newport’sCountryside Services recognised the need for a morecohesive approach, and the need for expertise to beprovided to schools. They developed a new project inlate 2007/early 2008, with a focus on increasingbiodiversity, and expanding on the existing linksmade with Education during the creation of thenature gardens.

The idea was approved by CCW and then discussedwith NCC’s Grounds Maintenance and EducationAdvisory Service, as well as Newport’s teachers.Initial concern over changes in current maintenanceprogrammes, the unsustainable nature of previousprojects and queries over why change somethingwhich is working gradually diminished. All partiescould see the benefit of looking at the whole schoolgrounds and using them as a wildlife and educationresource.

Ultimately, the appointment of a Biodiversity inSchools Officer was proposed as the most effectiveway to support schools to;

Increase the biodiversity of their grounds, and;

Make best use of their grounds to assist in thedelivery of the environmental aspects of theformal and informal curriculum

These aims would be fulfilled by the Biodiversity inSchools Officer being a single point of contact for theschools, and working in conjunction with the SchoolAdvisory Service, Countryside Services and GroundsMaintenance. A Council cross-service delivery wasrequired for the project to be successful.

In 2008/09 Newport City Council’s CountrysideService undertook a pilot study to formalise anapproach to improve school grounds for biodiversity -the Biodiversity in Schools project. This was includedin their 4-year Framework Grant from CCW. A pilotBiodiversity in Schools project began in April 2008and was run by one of the biodiversity officers as apart time programme (1 ½ days per week). The costof the pilot was funded 50% through NCC’sCountryside Service and 50% by CCW as part ofYear 1 of the Framework Grant. The total cost for thepilot year was £12,000, this included staff time andimplementation, a part of which was match grantfunding.

Background to theBiodiversity in Schools Project

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The four pilot schools chosen with the help of theScience Advisory Teacher (a key lead in thedevelopment of the project) were;

Llanmartin Primary School

Millbrook Primary School

St Patrick’s RC Primary School

St Woolos Primary School

Both Llanmartin Primary and Millbrook PrimarySchools are on the outskirts of Newport City Centreand have large grounds with extensive grass areas.St Patrick’s RC Primary and St Woolos PrimarySchools are in the City Centre and have smallgrounds dominated by hard play surfaces and highboundary walls.

These were chosen in order to test whether theBiodiversity in Schools Project can improve thebiodiversity and educational opportunities of schoolgrounds, regardless of the size, condition andlocation of the school.

The Pilot Project

Building nest boxes with volunteers from Gwent WildlifeTrust at St Woolos Primary School.

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Each pilot area was assessed for its existingbiodiversity, and opportunities and challenges to theenhancement of biodiversity in each location. Thebiodiversity officer liaised with teachers, parents andchildren within the pilot Schools to identifyopportunities and constraints and create a realisticlist of potential works. Following this some of themore challenging work was undertaken bycontractors - e.g. removal of bitumen macadamsurfacing. Other tasks were undertaken by groundsmaintenance teams or by pupils where appropriatei.e. planting whips.

Over the year 2008/9, the pilot project wassuccessful in increasing the biodiversity of the pilotschool grounds by planting native hedgerows,creating living willow structures, sowing wildflowermeadows and making nest boxes. The post alsohelped facilitate installations of log circles for use asan outdoor classroom or Forest School, and raisedbeds for vegetable growing.

The pilot project was successful in creating a goodworking relationship with the lead teachers in eachof the schools and in implementing projects on theground. Good communication between the schooland the contractors, or the school and GroundsMaintenance was noted as being paramount. Therole of the Biodiversity in Schools Officer washighlighted as being important in these situations,acting as an intermediary and enabling the schoolsrequirements to be interpreted correctly.

The Pilot Project

Pupils at St Patrick’s RC Primary helping a contractor toplant a living willow arbour (January 2009), and the arbour 2months later, starting to bud.

St Woolos Primary School is one of Newport’s old, Victorian red brick schools with the traditional drill yard and a few tokenshrubs. In December 2008 tarmac was removed and the area was landscaped. Low grade soil was brought in and a log ‘circle’was donated and installed. Woodchip was laid around the log circle and wildflower seed sown on the bare soil.

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The conclusion of the pilot project was that regardless of the size or location of the school and their grounds,the biodiversity and educational value of all school grounds could be improved, and at a minimum cost.

The success of the pilot project led to the decision to create a full time Biodiversity in Schools Officer post forYears 2, 3 and 4 of the CCW Framework Grant (2009 - 2012), rolling out the scheme to all 62 schools inNewport.

The Pilot Project

The Eco Club at St Patrick’s RC Primary helped Grounds Maintenance to plant whips to create a native hedge along part of theirboundary wall in December 2008. By September 2009 it had taken well and was starting to bush out.

Millbrook Primary School had an area which they called‘The Dell’ at the bottom of their grounds. It was a small,overgrown copse, unused and full of rubbish. In December2008 a contractor cleared the area, felling a few trees in theprocess, which were used to create a log circle. Remaininglogs and brash were used to create habitat piles. The area isnow a regularly used Forest School with plenty of shrubbyre-growth.

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Reaching the schools

A report on the pilot study findings and theproposals for the next steps was produced for theNewport Heads Forum in November 2008(available online). The Forum voted unanimously tocarry the project forward and to seek the agreementof all other Schools.

The FinancesThe Biodiversity in Schools Project is part fundedthrough the 4 year Framework Grant from theCountryside Council for Wales (CCW) obtained byNewport City Council’s Countryside Services (nowGreen Services).

In years 2, 3 and 4 of the Framework Grant, CCWprovided 50% of the total anticipated costs of thepost (£28 - £31,000 which included salary, on-costs and a small budget). The remaining 50% ofthe total cost was secured through offering schoolsthe option to sign up to the project in the form of a3-year Service Level Agreement (SLA). The optionwas offered to all schools, from nursery to secondary,regardless of whether they were in the Council’sGrounds Maintenance agreement or with an outsidecontractor. The SLA was set at £300 per school peryear for 2009-2012. In order to match the grantfrom CCW, 46 schools had to sign up to the SLA. Inthe event, 58 of Newport’s 61 schools signed up.

Support and PromotionAt this stage the Science Advisory Officer at the timeplayed a key role in promoting the new service andcontacting schools with details of the new SLA. Headteachers knew the Advisory Officer and trusted heropinion, and it was extremely helpful to have a‘champion’ for the project who was already wellknown and trusted in all the Newport schools. Shewas able to take the time to go and see headteachers individually to present the SLA and explainthe project further.

The SLA was also discussed at all Governorsmeetings as the document requires the signature ofthe Chair of Governors as well as the head teacher.

Schools began to indicate their commitment to thescheme, and by April 2009 enough schools werewilling to commit to enable the scheme to be run.A Cabinet Report was written for the Creation ofBiodiversity in Schools Officer (available online)to ask for approval to create the post.

The post within the Council

The Biodiversity in Schools Officer post could havesat in a number of places within the Council,allowing it to be quite flexible and interact with otherdepartments (e.g. Grounds Maintenance, CountrysideServices or Education Service). It was decided thatfor Newport, the best decision was for the post to sitin the Countryside Services, ensuring that thebiodiversity focus of the role was not lost and thatthe project could contribute to biodiversity targets.As such, the Biodiversity in Schools Officer is locatedwithin the Green Services in the Streetscene ServiceArea (formally Grounds and Countryside Services)

The Finances and Implementation

Stream dipping in the school grounds

Tree identification using keys

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At the start of the project a Flow Chart was created to assist the implementation process and help the Officerto separate the different stages of the project:

Liaison with Science Advisory Teacher & grounds maintenance

Lettersout to

schools

Visitschool

WalkGrounds

Establish Key Contact at SchoolCheck SLA is in place

Collect ideas/suggestionsNote ecological evaluation

CollateIdeas

Priorities

Plan of Works

Document issued to school onreturn visit

Includes project summary and wayforward

Cost estimates

Oversee works on groundBiodiversity issuesGM liaisonEco Clubs, staff meetingsSpecialist adviceNOT lessons

Input from grounds maintenance

Discussion/Agreement with Education Check plans with Science Advisory Teacher

Check plans with Education Planning& Building Managers

Talk to Education re: land disposalConsider viability and biodiversity benefitRefer ‘rogue’ ideas back to Grounds/Building Maintenancee.g. requests for benches, drainage problems etc.

Introduction/Project background

Explain Officer’s remit

Process summary

Budget availability

Potential funding

Action plan sheet

Ongoing - ‘Grounds Handbook’ or similar

Internal and external grounds maintenance manager andtechnical officer.

Chargehands responsible for each school

Consider GM budgets

Biodiversity in Schools: Flow Chart of ProcessesSTAGE 1

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STAGE 2

Present scheme to school

Revision of plansfollowing consultation

Arrange Works

Internal

Visit during works

Ongoing: Grounds Management

Ongoing: Grounds Management training

Completion of Works on ground

Input into Biodiversity ActionReporting System (BARS) (ongoing)

Additional and maintenanceworks ongoing

External

Office to arrangework with GroundsMaintenancetechnicians andcharge hands

Paid out ofCountryside budget,Groundsdevelopment budget,or school

Officer to assistschool with findingcontractors andagreeingspecifications

Schools generally paydirect to contractor,if applicable, Officercan pay direct ormatch fund

Head

Staff

Eco Councilor combination of all 3

Send revised plan to school

Consider potential funding sources

Ensure accurate specifications

INTERNAL

Arrange and attend planting day/event

Tools

Transport if required

Plants

GM Staff

Press if appropriate

EXTERNAL

Ensure specification met

Photos

Press if applicable

Area Managers and Chargehands:

• Change in regimes communicated

• Maintenance sheets amended/updated

• Cost consideration

• Explanations and training

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Implementing the ProjectThe Biodiversity in Schools Officer made initialcontact with all schools via a letter of introductionand a follow up phone call to arrange a meeting.The meeting was often with the Head teacher andanother teacher, perhaps the Eco Schools co-ordinator or Forest School Leader. Often theseteachers took on the role of key contact with theofficer in lieu of the Head teacher. The initial meetinginvolved a walk over the whole site noting existingfeatures and habitats and discussing possibleadditions. Sometimes the teachers knew what theywanted, other times they were completely open toideas. Suggestions made in terms of biodiversityenhancement included tree and hedge planting,meadow creation (in the simplest form of leavinggrass to grow long), native bulb planting, butterflybed planting, living willow structures, habitat piles,bug hotels and nest boxes. Other features were alsodiscussed to enhance the grounds in other ways,such as the installation of log circles, whetherspecifically for Forest School or simply as an outdoorclassroom; the creation of allotment plots or raisedbeds for vegetable growing; obtaining compost binsand installing fencing around nature areas.

Feedback was gained from other members of staff bythe lead teacher, and in some schools theBiodiversity in Schools Officer attended a staffmeeting to put forward ideas and promotediscussions. In many schools the Eco Club andSchool Council were involved in putting forwardideas for developing their grounds. Sometimes theBiodiversity in Schools Officer met with the childrendirectly, other times the lead teacher would feedback to the Officer. It was important to be flexiblewith each school and to allow them to decide howthey would like to proceed.

Following the initial meetings, a plan of works wasdrawn up by the Officer and returned to the schoolfor checking and amending. The document gave briefdetail about the project, it’s aims, and the role of theBiodiversity in Schools Officer. It also included atable with information about the proposed tasks suchas cost estimates, where possible, and the seasonaltimings of specific activities. Managementimplications were also noted. For example, someprojects would require little changes in management,but some may need extra management resulting inincreased charges to the school’s maintenance costs.Increased maintenance requirements such as tomaintain raised beds or ponds may affect charges, oralternatively the schools could take responsibility forthese.


Children at Lliswerry Primary School planting their hedge(March 2009)

Planting a butterfly bed at Clytha primary.

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Proposed works were also discussed with theschools maintenance contractors, whether that wasthe Council’s Grounds Maintenance or an externalcontractor. The Officer was able to discuss eachproject on behalf of the schools, so that thecontractor could detail the practicalities andpossibilities as well as what labour, funding orexpertise they could offer. Where required themaintenance contractors were able to suggest moreappropriate locations or alternative ways of working,but also their knowledge of the site and themaintenance regime meant that they could inputsome constructive comments and solutions. Theywould also provide quotes for the work as required,and were able to indicate whether there would beany changes to the schools maintenance charges.

The school planning and building team were alsoconsulted on the school developments, and theywere able to highlight any schools where they mayhave an issue with planting or habitat creationsschemes from a land disposal point of view.

Following the agreement of the proposed works byvarious parties, the Biodiversity in Schools Officerwould liaise with the school and the maintenancecontractor. Wherever possible the children wereinvolved with the projects - tree planting, butterflygarden planting, nest box making, willow planting,seed sowing etc.

The Biodiversity in Schools Officer would then ensurethat any changes to maintenance regimes resultingfrom the works were fed back to the groundsmaintennce operatives.

Throughout the project there has been regular liaisonbetween the Biodiversity in Schools Officer and theScience Advisory Officer who was able to offerfurther insight into the work going on in schools,particularly for example, of up-coming inspections.On her visits to the schools she would also belooking at how the school was making use of theirgrounds from an education point of view, and so anysuggestions that she made would be fed into theplanned works as well.


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A well established living willow arbour

Autumn bulb planting

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Funding the workFollowing the agreement of what works were required,the work was funded in a combination of ways;

Countryside budgetThe high number of Newport schools paid up to theSLA resulted in the Biodiversity in Schools Officerhaving a small budget which was able to be used topay for ground works, resources and other items asrequired (around £6,000 each year) to help schools.It also enabled the officer to make use of bulkpurchasing power and to purchase at wholesaleprices (for example, buying in compost bins andwater butts for all schools at far cheaper prices thanif the school were to buy one themselves). This wasan unexpected ‘added value’ to the schools as aresult of the project, as the high uptake meant thatby paying £300 a year they potentially could getmuch more than that back.

Grounds Maintenance development worksbudget Part of the Grounds Maintenance budget which isallocated to schools via the Central Education budgetincludes a small percentage for development works.This is available for any emergency and unexpectedwork that may be required, and can also be used todevelop the grounds in whatever way the schoolwants. This budget is ideally suited for biodiversityand educational enhancements, and in many casesthere was enough money in this budget to cover thecosts of the work at the individual schools.

Grants or external funding The Biodiversity in Schools Officer is able to searchfor grant funding on behalf of schools, and supportthem in applying for and obtaining the funds fordeveloping their grounds. For example, over the threeyears of the project a number of schools have beensuccessful in applying for Tesco Grants, BIG LotteryFunding and grants from banks and buildingsocieties.

School budgetThe schools would also find money themselvesthrough allocating some of their own budget togrounds development, through the PTA or ‘Friendsof’ group funds, or through fundraising activities. Forexample, one school put money raised at theirChristmas Fayre towards building some raised beds.In another, they asked for children to bring in 50p toplant a tree in the hedge around their playing field.


St Julian’s Primary School was able to make use of theirdevelopment works budget to have a willow tunnel planted byGrounds Maintenance in March 2011.

Raised vegetable beds at St Joseph’s RCPrimary - the money raised at their ChristmasFayre was match funded by the Biodiversity inSchools Officer.

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Biodiversity in SchoolsCase Studies

Fairoak Nursery SchoolFairoak Nursery is a fairly large Nursery Schoolclose to the centre of the City. A number of childrencome from economically disadvantagedbackgrounds with a number of families living insupported housing. The school building is atraditional Victorian red-brick style and they havesmall grounds, mostly a tarmac playground, likemany old schools in the City. There is a very smallsquare of grass and tall boundary walls. The schoolis in an urban environment, surrounded by houses,roads and businesses.

With the enthusiasm and imagination of the currentHead teacher the grounds have been transformedinto an inspiring and engaging environment for thechildren in the Nursery. The Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer encouraged them to develop further areas in

the grounds, making suggestions as to a fewadditional features to continue their development.

In the last 3 years, they have created raised beds, apolytunnel-come-potting shed, a chicken coopcomplete with bantam chickens, a bird ‘hide’ andnature safari area, a bird table, feeders and nestboxes, log piles, an orchard in pots, pots of herbs,flowers and anything else you care to think of. It justshows what can be done in such a small anduninspiring place! On Saturday mornings they run agardening club for the parents to come to with theirchildren, and it’s proved so popular that they areoften there well into the afternoon. The children nowgrow vegetables at home with their parents,something that many had never done before.

The nursery school also makes use of a local urbanwoodland, Oaklands Wood, which is about 1kmfrom the Nursery. The Council has installed a logcircle in this site and a number of other local schoolsuse it as well. In March 2011 the Biodiversity inSchools Officer arranged for improvement works inthe woodland and repaired the log circle (fundedfrom Biodiversity in Schools Officer and Tree Officerbudgets).

A few visits a year by the Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer is all that is needed at this school, to give afew ideas and support on using what they alreadyhave. The supply of resources is a key contributionhere, such as access to ‘free’ compost bins andwater butts, and the improvements to their localwoodland. Any work they do in their grounds theyfund themselves, or get donations fromparents/teachers.

A potted sensory garden

The children feed thechickens and collect theeggs. Between morning andafternoon sessions thechickens wander in thegarden. Their eggs are sold,made into sandwiches andused in cake baking.

Their tiny grass areaincludes a log circle, awillow arbour and a diggingpatch right in the corner, aswell as plenty of logs and asmall butterfly border.

Bug hotel, hedgehog house,bird feeders and bird bath.The children actively collectmaterials to top up the bughotel.

A potted orchard!

Nature safari area - “comehere to explore, find bugs,build logs, investigate”

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Millbrook Primary SchoolMillbrook Primary School is a medium sized schoolsituated on the Bettws housing estate to the northwestern edge of Newport. The majority of the estateis social housing, and Bettws is one of Newport’sCommunities First areas. Around 30% of childrenare entitled to free school meals - above thenational and local averages. They have largegrounds in excess of two acres, which comprises ofa large field, grass banking, a small woodland copseand tarmac playgrounds. Bettws Brook skirts theschool grounds to the north and east, and theircopse area is surrounded by a wet ditch. Not farfrom the school is the Monmouthshire-BreconCanal.

Millbrook Primary was one of the schools that tookpart in the Biodiversity in Schools pilot project, andduring that first year their small copse, ‘The Dell’,was created into a Forest School. A contractorcleared some of the shrub layer and felled a smallnumber of trees in order to create a clearing for a logcircle. The log circle was created from the treeswhich had been felled, and the remaining timber andbrash were left on site in habitat piles. The copse islocated at the bottom of a steep bank off the playingfield, and is surrounded by a wet ditch. Steps werecreated in the bank and a bridge built over the ditchto allow easy access. Additionally, the grass bankadjacent to the Forest School was allowed to grow asa meadow area, cut annually, after discussion withthe Grounds Maintenance Team. The Forest Schoolis now regularly used by groups - once a week forForest School specifically, and at other times of theweek as a general outdoor classroom. This projectwas funded from the Pilot project budget which wassignificantly higher per school than in later years(diluted between more schools).

Steps and bridge leading into the Forest School

Raised beds in full use

Since the roll out of the full Biodiversity in Schoolsprogramme, they have had a number of otherenhancements in their grounds. Six raised beds havebeen constructed for vegetable growing by Roots,part of Vision 21 - this is a social enterprise projectwhich offers skills and training to adults withlearning disabilities, and the Roots project is basedat Bettws Allotments and provides horticultural andgarden maintenance training. This created a reallybeneficial link between the school and their localcommunity. This was funded through theBiodiversity in Schools Officer budget in Year 2.

They have also had a willow structure planted - atunnel leading into a dome, planted in March 2009.The willow was funded through the school’s groundsdevelopment budget.

The school’s ESTYN inspection report in early 2009notes the, “the recent development of a forest schoolsetting in the grounds significantly enhances learningopportunities”, confirming the opinion thatdeveloping school grounds plays a major role inchildren’s education.

Their most recent project was the creation of a boggarden by the Eco Club. They have a naturally wetarea in their field (where the willow has beenplanted) which they wanted to make into a bog. TheBiodiversity in Schools Officer met with the Eco Clubto talk about the design of a bog, and we went out todecide how big they wanted it to be. The Eco Clubthen dug the bog themselves (a very muddyexperience!) (May 2011). The Eco Club provided thelabour themselves and the Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer funded plants for them.

Millbrook Primary have also been successful in beingpart of the Learning Through Landscapes (LTL) TyfuOrchards project. Since September 2010 they havehad a LTL Officer working with them to learn aboutapple varieties, design the orchard and to help themplant their own orchard (planting to take place early2012). All the funding for this project has come viaLearning Through Landscapes.


Maintaining their willow dome

Marking out the bog before starting to dig

Getting stuck into the digging

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Langstone Primary SchoolLangstone Primary is a fairly large school situatedin the rural ward of Langstone, an economicallyadvantaged area, to the eastern edge of Newport.They have large grounds of over 2 acres. Thegrounds consist of a playing field with a sizeableamount of space surrounding it, ‘Nature’sClassroom’ which they developed with Big LotteryFunding and 2 large playgrounds. Fields and asmall number of houses surround the grounds.

Over the 3 years of the Biodiversity in SchoolsProject they have had an active and enthusiastic EcoCommittee who have taken ownership over a lot ofprojects in the school grounds. After discussions withthe Biodiversity in Schools Officer, the Eco Co-ordinator and the Committee have sown wildflowerseed to create a meadow/butterfly area in an unusedsunny grassy bank; arranged for raised beds to bebuilt - enough for one for every class; planted anorchard and sown wildflower seed on a rough bankcreated after the creation of a new car park. Thebutterfly meadow is flourishing and the orchardseems to have established very well. The raised bedsare actively used by almost all classes and thechildren harvest and sell or eat the produce theygrow. All these projects were funded by the schooland most of the work was carried out by theirexternal Grounds Maintenance Contractor.

In conjunction with the Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer, a native hedgerow has been planted (on asnowy day in February 2010!) and a butterfly bedhas been revived (on a lovely warm day in June2011). Both of these projects were funded from theBiodiversity in Schools Officer budget. The Officeralso has an active involvement in the schools annualEco Day - running activities in Nature’s Classroomand the whole grounds including tree ID, bughunting and wildflower ID during 2010.

Langstone Primary will be going for its platinum EcoSchools award in 2012, and there are plans toreplant and revitalise the Sensory Garden in KS1 andto maintain the willow tunnel. The Eco Club are alsoin the process of surveying all the grounds to create aprofile of the school’s biodiversity, and creating anelectronic map of the grounds which is linked to thedata collected.

Hedge planting in the snow

Thriving raised beds

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Maesglas Primary SchoolMaesglas Primary is located to the south west ofNewport and shares it’s large playing field withMaes Ebbw Special School with which they haveclose links. The Maesglas area is a CommunitiesFirst Area of Newport and has a high degree ofsocial disadvantage. Approximately 50% of pupilsare entitled to free school meals, well above thelocal and national averages.

They have a large playing field to the front of theschool with a smaller grass area to the rear and twotarmac playgrounds. The school is in the centre ofthe Maesglas estate and attracts vandalism - theirgrounds suffer from damage on a regular basis.

Over the last two years the school has trieddeveloping their grounds in a number of ways. Theschool has no Forest School trained teachers, but alog circle has been installed to help them with theiroutdoor education provision. As part of this a smallnumber of trees and shrubs were also planted, butunfortunately these did not survive the vandals. Morewill be planted in winter 2011/12. The log circle andtree planting was funded from the GroundsMaintenance development budget and theBiodiversity in Schools Officer budget.

In the summer term of 2011, the reception class hada mini-beast topic, and worked with the Biodiversityin Schools Officer to create a mini-beast mansion orbug palace. The staff and children collected largevolumes of material to fill the palace, and theBiodiversity in Schools Officer provided the palletsand additional material. This project had no costassociated with it as all material was recycled orcollected, there was only a time commitment.

The school had four raised beds built over thesummer of 2011, one for each of the KS1 classesand a digging bed, and if successful more will followfor KS2. These were funded by the school’s GroundsMaintenance development work budget.

Onto the second layer of the minibeast mansion - selectingwhich pieces of bark will fit

The finished article

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Milton Junior SchoolMilton Junior School is situated in the Ringlandward of Newport, on the edge of the inner-city area.The area is one of Newport’s eleven CommunitiesFirst areas and has a high level of unemploymentand significant socio-economic disadvantages. 46%of pupils are entitled to free school meals, wellabove local and national averages.

The school shares some of it’s site with the adjacentInfant School, but most of the grounds are usedindependently to each other. The Juniors have a welldeveloped allotment area - the Dig for Victory gardendeveloped as part of a World War II History project -and have been developing their EnvironmentalGarden over recent years. The Environmental Gardennow has a small meadow area and a bog gardenalong with bird feeders and nest boxes.

The bog garden was created in 2009 with the helpof Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water as part of a successfulcollaboration project with the school. Eleven DwrCymru employees were involved in a ManagementDevelopment Training programme, and were in needof a voluntary project which the team could deliver tocomplete their training. Through contact with DwrCymru’s Education Team, the Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer was invited to select a project which theManagement Development trainees may like to takeon. Milton Juniors had already expressed an interestin creating a wetland area in their EnvironmentalGarden, and it was felt it would be an ideal projectfor the group. Dwr Cymru commented that theyfound it very useful having someone already incontact with the school, to be able to present theproject and arrange the initial meetings with therelevant teachers.

The Dig for Victory garden The meadow in theirEnvironmental Garden

The site of the bog Laying the pipework Backfilling the bog

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The Dwr Cymru Team wanted to find a sustainablewater source that would feed the wetland andmaintain water levels throughout the year. With theirrange of water management and engineering skills,they designed a solution that was technically uniqueand practical to construct and maintain. The boggarden is fed by 3 water butts, and the water level inthe bog garden is controlled by a ball valve whichcan be adjusted by 3 taps at different levels.

In September 2009 the Dwr Cymru Team involvedthe children in the project, explaining what they weredoing and why, and arranged a competition for thechildren to choose the plants to go in the bog. Thecreation of the bog garden was carried out over theOctober half term in 2009, and the site was then leftuntil the Spring of the following year for planting.Children were involved in the planting of the gardenand the installation of an interpretation board. TheEco Club were heavily involved in learning about thebog garden and how to look after it and maintain thewater levels, and now are very good at checking thatthe water levels are suitable.

The funding of the project was entirely by DwrCymru. The members of the Team arrangedfundraising events and gained charitable donations ofmoney, materials, equipment and manpower from anumber of contractors to Dwr Cymru. Dwr Cymrualso committed 2 days of staff time to the project foreach member of the team. The photos show thedevelopment of the area over the initial 5 days, andthen the planting day in Spring 2010.

Planting day

The finished bog garden -give it a few years to fill out!

Checking the interpretationpanel

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Bassaleg SchoolBassaleg School is a secondary school located inthe Graig Ward of Newport, to the west of the City.The majority of pupils are neither from advantagednot disadvantaged backgrounds, and only 4% areentitled to free school meals. The school hasextensive grounds of over 20 acres, mostlycomprising of large sports fields, but they also havea small orchard and are making some significantdevelopments. For example, they have constructedan outdoor classroom - a log circle surrounded by awillow ‘hedge’ - which was constructed before theBiodiversity in Schools Officer was in post. Theschool also has a very active and enthusiastic EcoCommittee and holds its second green flag.

Since the Biodiversity in Schools Officer has been inpost, the school has developed a large meadow area(Grounds Maintenance budget), had 3 raised bedsinstalled (Grounds Maintenance budget) with waterbutts (Biodiversity in Schools Officer budget) anddeveloped their ‘Big Grounds Day’ to include moreactivities. They have also been successful in raisingthe funds for and installing a wind turbine on thesite.

The ‘Big Grounds Day’ is an annual day arranged forYear 9, where the students are off timetable for 2days and involved in activities focussed in theirgrounds. The school invites external organisationssuch as Gwent Wildlife Trust, Forestry Commission,Keep Wales Tidy, Welsh Water and Newport CityCouncil to take part. The students take part inactivities such as meadow surveying, treeidentification, stream sampling and litter picking aswell as forest school activities such as camp firecooking. Over the last three years the Biodiversity inSchools Officer has run activities in pond samplingand Forest School sessions - fire safety, camp firecooking and willow maintenance.

Stream sampling with Welsh Water

Meadow surveying - comparing mown grassland with unmownareas.

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Page HeaderAdditional Workin the Project

As well as working directly with the schools in theirgrounds and with Grounds Maintenance, theBiodiversity in Schools Officer also has a number ofother roles and responsibilities.

Eco Week

Since 2008, Newport City Council has run ‘EcoWeek’ for all Newport schools at Tredegar HouseNurseries, one of the Council’s Nursery sites. It is aweek long event, traditionally held in June, that hasdeveloped over time to offer activities in a range oftopics such as recycling, gardening, ecology andsustainability. It is aimed at KS2 and upper KS1ages.

The Biodiversity in Schools Officer has been involvedin Eco Week since 2009 in the ‘Countryside’marquee, providing activities such as wood cookies,food chain games and feely boxes.

In 2010 the Biodiversity in Schools Officer had moreinvolvement in the organisation of the event. Due tothe close working relationship created over theprevious years with the schools, the Officer organisedbooking the schools and organising buses for theevent. New for 2010, one of the CountrysideWardens ran a bush-craft activity area, theBiodiversity in Schools Officer invited Gwent WildlifeTrust and the RSPB to come along for the week, andalso the Countryside department created a wildlifegarden at the Nurseries which allowed an activity tobe run looking at habitats.

In 2011, the Officer was the lead organiser for theevent, booking the providers, the schools and thebuses, co-ordinating the week and managing thebudget and Health and Safety issues. In 2011 thedecision was taken to run the week in September,taking pressure off Nursery employees who are verybusy during June with bedding displays.

Eco Week has evolved over the four years it has beenrunning, and although many providers have beenwith us from the beginning, some have joined usalong the way. The week now includes provisionfrom Gwent Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and WelshWater, the Ebbw Vale Owl Sanctuary and AnimalZone are also involved, as are local Beekeepers, 5 forlife (promoting healthy living), green woodworkersand bush craft specialists. Internal Councildepartments also run activities on recycling,biodiversity, habitats, food chains, allotments andplanting hanging baskets to take back to school. In

2011, around 1200 children visited Eco Week overthe five days, from 27 schools across Newport.

The funding for this event comes from a number ofsources. Initially it came from the Council’s corebudget, but by 2011 this was no longer available,and so the Green Services used CCW FrameworkGrant funding of £6,000 for the event. For the firstfew years the event was entirely free to the schools,but in 2010 the decision was taken to charge theschools a nominal fee, as a contribution to thetransport costs. By 2011 the schools were asked topay £3.50 per child, which covered the buses to andfrom the event as well as all the activities, and twohanging baskets for the school. This gave a totalbudget of £10,000 for the event (£6,000 from CCWgrant, £4,000 from school contributions). Theschools were able to make use of their GroundsMaintenance Development Works budget to pay forthe event, so the majority of schools were not out ofpocket.

Outside the CountrysideMarquee at Eco Week

Learning bushcraft skills andexploring the wildlife gardenbehind.

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The newly created wildlife garden, complete with bug hotel,log pile and pond.

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Additional Workin the Project

Allt yr Yn Nature Reserve

Newport City Council’s Countryside Service used torun regular education visits to Allt-yr-Yn Local NatureReserve, but in recent history these visits werereduced and eventually stopped due to increasedpressure on staff from other directions. In April 2011these visits were revived on a smaller scale by theBiodiversity in Schools Officer, Biodiversity Officerand the Countryside Wardens. The BiodiversityOfficer arranged for the log circle to be repaired andan additional one installed. A pond dipping platformwas also installed over one of the ponds.

Two hour sessions are now offered weekly on Fridaymornings to classes of 30 children, available on afirst come first served basis. The sessions are freebut the schools have to make their own way to theReserve. From Easter 2011 to the summer of 2012almost all the available sessions were booked,resulting in around 300 children experiencing theLNR. Each session involves two members of staff ona rotational basis. The sessions are based around anintroduction to the Reserve, with activities at variouspoints as the group walk through the woodland andmeadow. We look at the different habitats of the siteand explore the Reserve using a range of senses.They are suitable for KS 1 and 2, with the leaderamending the activities as appropriate.

Grounds for Learning

For years 3 and 4 of the CCW Framework Grant, theBiodiversity in Schools Officer has produced asupportive publication for schools entitled ‘Groundsfor Learning’. It is normally produced twice a year, inthe autumn and spring terms, as a way ofcommunicating information to all schools at once. Itincludes details on national events, things to do inthe grounds at that time of year and activitysuggestions. All copies are available online.

Exploring the woodland atAllt-yr-Yn Nature Reserve

Look what I found!

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Oaklands Wood

Oaklands Wood, or Woodland Park, as it is alsoknown, is a piece of urban woodland and greenspacewhich is highly valued by the local residents. It issituated in the Beechwood Ward of the City, and atonly 2.4 hectares is not as big as some of the otherlocal parks, but is a valuable resource for the area inwhich it is located. For a number of years (prior tothe Biodiversity in Schools Officer being in post), alog circle has been located in the woodland for useby local schools. It was installed by the Council atthe request of St Joseph’s RC Primary School, and isalso used by Eveswell Primary and Fairoak Nursery.All of these are less than 1km from the woodland. Inthe case of Eveswell Primary they are just 300mfrom the entrance of the wood.

Like many urban open spaces, Oaklands Woodsuffers from vandalism, and the log circle acts as afocal point for the youths. As a result, the logs haveover the years been set alight, pulled from theirsecure fixings and had graffiti scrawled on them. Theaccess into the woodland has also been very poor fora number of years - steep banks and rocky accessmade it inaccessible for many. In early 2011, theGreen Team (formally Countryside Services) usedtheir CCW Framework Grant to make someimprovements to the site in the form of a new kissinggate, steps and a new log circle.

In March 2011, the Mayor and local Councillors, aswell as the local residents and children from the 3local schools, were invited to a tree planting event to‘open’ the new access and log circle. A mixture of 70native trees (Coryllus avelana, Prunus avium, Betulapendula) and 50 primroses were planted near to theentrance points to the woodland.

The log circle at Oaklands Wood regularly attracts vandalism.

The opening of Oaklands Wood with the Mayor and localCouncillors and school children.

Improved access into the woodland, and the repaired andrestored log circle

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Training Opportunities

The Biodiversity in Schools Officer completed theOCN Forest School Assistant Level 2 course over thewinter of 2009/2010. This was in order to help theOfficer to fully understand the principles andrequirements of Forest School, and so be able tobetter support schools in their development. As aqualified Assistant the Officer can also supportschools in the delivery of their Forest School,assisting at short notice when available in cases ofsickness or absence of other staff. The Officer is notoften called upon to do this - around 6 sessionssince completing the course.

The Biodiversity in Schools Officer has alsocompleted training in living willow structures. Thecourse was an ideal opportunity to train NCC staff inwhat is fast becoming a popular addition to schoolgrounds. By receiving this training, the SchoolsGrounds Maintenance Teams can now properlymaintain any existing structures that schools have,as well as being able to plant the structures asrequested.

Green Space Directory

In year 4 of the CCW Framework Grant (2011/12),the Biodiversity in Schools Officer began to create adirectory of Green Space for schools, workingalongside the Countryside Wardens and the Parksand Leisure departments. This document aims togive details of a number of accessible naturalgreenspace areas in Newport which are suitable forvisits by school children. It will give a location mapwith access points, a detailed map of the site withfootpaths where appropriate, a basic species list of

the site, especially if there is anything interesting tokeep an eye out for, and any site specific hazardsthat the school needs to be aware of. It will be madeaccessible online on the Council’s website whencompleted.

Woodland Development

A successful application for the ForestryCommission’s Better Woodlands for Wales Grantresulted in management and education action plansfor two woodlands in Newport – Graig and Ringland.Part of that project included an educational element,working with the schools local to the woodlands,developing a trail and producing an activity leaflet toaccompany it. The Biodiversity in Schools Officeralong with two of the Countryside Wardens aredeveloping the trail with the schools and improvingthe woodlands for public use. The trail in GraigWood, Malpas, includes posts at intervals along theroute where different activities could take placedepending on the surrounding habitat or resources,but which could also be changed each time theschools visited, keeping it flexible. The leafletsproduced will also be made available to parents, andthe local community who may like to visit thewoodland.

Learning how to create livingwillow structures.

A willow tunnel planted atCaerleon Endowed Infantsby the Biodiversity inSchools Officer and groundsmaintenance team.

Newport City Council Countryside Wardens and children ofMalpas Church Juniors creating a nature trail in Graig Wood

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Business relationships and partnershipworking

The Biodiversity in Schools Officer has also beentrying to develop links with businesses, other localauthorities and other organisations who areinterested in helping local schools.

Dwr Cymru

As mentioned in the case studies, Dwr Cymru wereable to commit a lot of time and resources tocreating a bog garden at Milton Junior School inRingland. There is also regular contact with DwrCymru Officers and the Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer, because if they are ever looking for schools topilot projects they will often turn to Newport first.The Biodiversity in Schools Officer can contactschools on their behalf and save them time andhassle. A possible project for the future involveslooking at sustainable urban drainage systems (suds)in schools.

Leadbitter

Leadbitter are the construction company who arecurrently building the new Hartridge High School.They are a company keen to make links with thelocal community that they are working in, employinga Community Relations Officer to help with this. Inthe summer of 2010, the Biodiversity in SchoolsOfficer contacted Leadbitter after noticing a largenumber of trees had been felled on the school site.A number of schools were interested in having logcircles installed, and so the Officer approachedLeadbitter to see if they would be interested insupplying the logs for these. They were willing and

able to supply the logs for 3 schools to have logcircles, and were keen to keep them as local aspossible (keep to the feeder schools for HartridgeHigh where possible). In the autumn of 2010Leadbitter’s contractors dropped the logs at theappropriate schools, and Grounds Maintenanceinstalled the log circles. The schools to benefit fromthese were Brynglas, Alway and Eveswell PrimarySchools. The Argus was invited to a Forest Schoollesson at Eveswell Primary in the Spring, andLeadbitter were able to gain some positive publicityfor the partnership project.

Gwent Wildlife Trust and RSPB

Links are regularly made with Gwent Wildlife Trustand the local RSPB field teachers at NewportWetlands National Nature Reserve. Gwent WildlifeTrust provide advice on habitat management andcreation, and also Trust volunteers have offered theirservices to a number of Newport schools. A group ofvolunteers spent a day clearing out a pond at MalpasChurch Junior School, as it had become choked withreeds and was very silted up. Additionally, there is avery successful nest box making scheme which hasbeen running from the beginning of the Biodiversityin Schools Project. Volunteers from the Trust havegone into over 50 schools and built nest boxes withthe children. They make one per class, allowing eachchild to hit a nail in, resulting in a class next boxbuilt. Since January 2010 over 150 nest boxes havebeen made in Newport Schools. Volunteers from theRSPB education centre at Newport Wetlands havealso been helping with this project, and more arekeen to join in where possible. Both the charitiesalso now play an active role in Eco Week, asmentioned previously.

Gwent Wildlife Trust volunteers making nest boxes withchildren at Alway Primary

Leadbitter supplied logs for a number of forest school logcircles in Newport – this one at Eveswell Primary

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Keep Wales Tidy

Keep Wales Tidy were able to help with a bit ofclearance work at a school - they involved one oftheir volunteer groups from the local area to helpclear some brambles at Milton Infant School’s forestschool area. Many Newport Schools are also involvedin the annual Keep Wales Tidy Week. Unfortunately,due to the high number of schools in Newport withGreen Flag awards, Keep Wales Tidy cannot directlyhelp most of the schools (the Eco Schools award isfunded by Keep Wales Tidy, and their grant criteriameans that they cannot fund a school twice).

Caldicot and Wentlooge IDB

The Caldicot and Wentlooge Internal Drainage Boardare responsible for the water level managementacross the Gwent Levels. They work closely withmany of the local and national conservation bodies inthe area, and in 2011 expressed an interest in beinginvolved in the Biodiversity in Schools Project as partof their social responsibility, and with an educationfocus. At the time of writing the Board are discussingpotential ways forward for them to support localschools, after the Biodiversity in Schools Officer metwith representatives from the Board and talkedthrough the options. A number of schools have eitherexpressed an interest, or already have on site,wetland areas - be this ponds or bog gardens. TheIDB have expertise in the creation and maintenanceof these features, and could offer a valuable resourceto the Biodiversity in Schools project through labour,advice, resources and equipment.

Local authorities

Other local authorities have expressed interest inNewport’s Biodiversity in Schools Project, and theOfficer has been able to visit other authorities toshare expertise and explain how the project was setup in Newport. The Ecology section of BlaenauGwent County Borough Council was able to followthe model set by Newport to implement a similarproject with a part time Officer in post. TorfaenCounty Borough Council have also expressed aninterest in the project, wanting to see if a similarproject would work in their authority.

There are also regular opportunities to shareexperiences and ideas on habitat creation andeducational activities between local authorities.

Bramble clearance at Milton Infants.

Gwent Wildlife Trust volunteers tackling the pond MalpasChurch Juniors

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Project Outcomesand the Future

Project Outcomesand the FutureOver the three years of the Biodiversity in SchoolsProject, the biodiversity and educational benefits ofall 58 school grounds have been enhanced,showing that improvements can be achievedregardless of the size, condition or location of theschool’s grounds.

Biodiversity and Educational Enhancements

In terms of biodiversity enhancement, the project hasfocussed on habitat creation, linking this toNewport’s Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP)wherever possible. From April 2009 until March2012 the following developments have taken place.All the developments noted are NEW plantings orhabitat creations, so does not take into accountexisting habitats the schools have created before theproject began;

A little over 1km of native hedgerow has beenplanted.

230 native trees have been planted, singlyand in small copses

33 fruit trees (+30 LTL trees) have beenplanted, most in groups of 5 or more

4 bog gardens have been created

22 living willow structures have been planted

14 butterfly/bee/insect areas have beenplanted up

New meadow areas totalling approximately1.5 acres have been set aside

150 nest boxes have been made in 50 schools

4 existing ponds maintained (cleared out andreplanted)

Along with plenty of smaller projects such asbug hotels, log piles and encouraging schoolsto leave piles of brash and grass clippings.

Educational enhancements and other developmentsin the grounds have also taken place, and theseinclude;

Creation of new raised beds or allotment plots(turf stripped) at 22 schools that didn’t haveany areas previously.

Installation of new log circles (for ForestSchools and Outdoor Classrooms) at 20schools, plus continuous checking of existinglog circles and replacing as required.

Supporting schools in their water and wastemanagement by supplying them with compostbins and water butts - 40 compost bins and80 water butts to date.

The project has also shown that it is possible todevelop school grounds for the benefit of the schooland biodiversity, with the support of the groundsmaintenance contractor. A cross service, cohesiveapproach with internal grounds maintenance and theschools, as well as a good working relationship withexternal contractors and the schools, will ensure thatthe delivery on the ground fulfils expectations.

Preparing the ground for planting at Maindee Primary

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The Future

Further funding has been secured from theCountryside Council for Wales for 2012-2014 asmatch funding for the post, again as part of thelarger scale Green Services Framework Grant.

At the end of the initial 3 year period (March 2012),the Biodiversity in Schools Officer met with allNewport schools, presenting a further years’ ServiceLevel Agreement (SLA) to them. Due to the proposedamalgamation of Gwent’s local education authorities,the Council made the decision that all SLAs withschools would be for one year only (2012-13). Allservices were included in this, from GroundsMaintenance, Cleaning, Building Maintenance and ITServices as well as the Biodiversity SLA. All 61schools received a copy of the new SLA, and mostwere very happy with the service they had receivedand re-signed. There were a small number who didnot due to financial restraints on their budgets. TheOfficer also visited the 4 schools who were notcurrently signed up to the SLA and they seemed tobe interested in what the Biodiversity in Schoolsproject could offer them.

In the interim year (2012-13), before returning to a3 year SLA pattern, 50 schools resigned to theBiodiversity in Schools SLA.

The next SLA period is 2013-2016, and we will notknow until March 2013 how many schools will re-sign for a further year. It is anticipated that thenumbers could drop by around 10%. Early returnsindicate this level of loss (at the time of writing, 23schools have resigned for another year, with only 1that has been in the project for the last 4 yearsdeciding not to resign). If numbers do drop, thenthere will be a smaller budget for the Officer to makeuse of, but it should still match the funding fromCCW.

The new bog garden at Malpas Court Primary

planting the butterfly border at Monnow Primary

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And beyond

As a result of the success of the project so far, aswell as lessons which have been learnt in the projectdelivery, there are a number of options as to how toprogress and evolve the post. The post needs to actas a conduit for bringing money into the Council inorder to make the post more self-sufficient, and thiscould take place in a few ways:

1. It could for example, carry on in much the sameformat, but be extended across more local authoritiesin order to involve more schools. This could makethe post self-supporting, reducing the need forfunding from the Countryside Council for Wales. Itcould, however, affect the service which the schoolsreceive if the Officer’s time is spread over a greaternumber of schools.

2. The post could become more of a GroundsTechnical Support role, being the one point ofcontact for all school grounds related issues, fromsports line marking and bench installation tobiodiversity enhancements and educationaldevelopments. This was decided as not a feasibleoption for Newport, as the biodiversity andeducational focus of the post could become dilutedand the focus move towards Grounds Maintenanceservice delivery.

3. The post could build on the links created withNCC’s Recycling and Sustainability Team in order totap into other sources of funding. The SustainabilityManager has access to grants which could be puttowards developing school grounds and supportingthe post. This is already happening, and it is thoughtsustainability budgets will be used to fund Eco Weekin the coming years.

4. The post could become more of a training service,offering training and support to teachers to helpthem to use their grounds, rather than focussing ongrounds development (as many schools will havedeveloped as much as they want to/can do). ForestSchool training and advise can also be offered, aswell as the delivery of Forest School sessions.

5. The post could also help schools look beyond theirschool boundaries to extend the environmentaleducation curriculum. In particular it could ensureschools have full access to other sitesowned/managed or known of within the authorityarea. This would be supported in the production ofthe Green Space Directory.

In Newport City Council we feel that the best optionsfor us are 3, 4 and 5 combined. That is, makingmore cross service links with the Recycling andSustainability Team, offering more training andForest School support for within school grounds, andhelping schools explore their local area and use othersites around Newport for extending their outdoorcurriculum beyond the school grounds.

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Newport’s Biodiversity in Schools Project has shownthat there is a definite need within schools forsupport and guidance in developing and using theirgrounds. Teachers often do not have the time,experience or knowledge to develop their grounds forbiodiversity, and so this gap in provision has beenfilled by a dedicated Biodiversity in Schools Officer.The focus on enhancing biodiversity, improving thegrounds as an educational resource and being apoint of contact for all things ‘Eco’ has proved crucialin Newport. Our biodiversity has been enhancedthrough the creation of small wildlife habitats, andteachers are more willing to get outside and use theirgrounds.

The format of Newport’s Biodiversity in SchoolsProject could be rolled out in other areas, so long asa member of staff is dedicated to delivering it. Itneeds to be an ongoing project in order to create thegood working relationships between the Officer,schools and grounds maintenance contractors. Along term project will also ensure that schools createthe best environments, maintain them and use themsustainably, something which could not be achievedso well with a short term or part time project.

In summary, Newport’s Biodiversity in Schoolsproject has shown clear benefits for the schools andthe authority in terms of biodiversity enhancementand educational developments. The value whichschools place on the post has been shown by thenumber of them re-signing for a further year, andincreases in biodiversity have contributed to NewportLocal Biodiversity Action Plan.

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Biodiversity in SchoolsProject Set Up Flow Chart

Present proposal to your in house groundsmaintenance department.

Find out what other external contractorsschools use and talk to these too.

Develop Pilot project

Source funding

Midway through delivery of successful pilotproject, present the full project to all the

schools. Begin to think about this inSeptember/October!

Write Cabinet Report for creation of post,once you have idea of number of schoolswho will sign up – hopefully enough to

match fund your grant!

Meet individual head teachers topresent Service Level Agreement.

Perhaps arrange meetings to presentto school cluster groups.

Present project to Heads Forum orsimilar group in your LA – write

summary report and attend meeting,give presentation etc

Find somebody within the Local Authoritywho is already ‘in’ with the schools e.g.

Science Advisory Teacher

Sustainable Schools Officer

Eco Schools Officer

Foundation Phase Advisor

Forest School Advisor

And present idea to them, get them onboard.

The Advisory Teacher may bebest placed to do this, or joinyou in these meetings. You mayalso be asked to go to Governorsmeetings as the Chair ofGovernors will need to sign theSLA – SLAs would generallyneed to be signed by January forthe next financial year so planahead.

• Consider how much need to ask for i.e.how many schools are in your authorityand how much could you charge them

• Take into account on-costs of post

• Apply for grant funding - CountrysideCouncil for Wales or similar.

Choose a small cross sectionof schools for the pilot:

e.g. Small grounds; largegrounds; inner city; rural;secondary; primary etc. Can the costs of the pilot project

be covered by existing posts andbudgets? Or do you need tosource funding before thisbegins?

Work with the schools for up toa year, to enhance the grounds,testing process.

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Improving school groundsfor biodiversity and education

The Newport

Biodiversity in Schools OfficerNewport City CouncilGreen ServicesStreetsceneCivic CentreNewport NP20 4UR

Telephone: 01633 656656Email: [email protected]/streetscene

improving school grounds for biodiversity and education

Documents