In November we started our project by getting a local gardener and parent to meet with the committee and advise us on the best way to plan the project to maximize the effectiveness of the pollinator plan. We have purchased pollinator friendly bulbs, gardening equipment for pupils and pollinator friendly plants and shrubs to provide summer and winter blooming.
We have purchased a polytunnel for the school and are currently hoping to support the development of raised beds.
There is a bug hotel in the outdoor classroom and all pupils have had the chance to plant their own bulbs, as well as planting vegetables. One class has entered a science competition with compost making as their experiment and all pupils are excited by the appearance of spring flowers as we move into April. The school community, including the principal, teachers and the caretaker, has been fully behind the project and it is a joy to pass by and see pupils outside getting stuck in and to see the school as a vibrant and attractive learning environment which is fully in tune with the rural landscape in which it is situated.
Action Plan
How we'll spend the seed funding:
- Buy pollinator -friendly bulbs to be planted this November for spring blooms by the students with their teachers
- As per teacher request, we will buy gardening tools for the kids to help plant bulbs and for future planting activities with the students
- Buy pollinator-friendly summer and autumn flowering shrubs and trees to provide pollinators source of food all year round
- Create raised vegetable beds for the student’s use - they usually plant potatoes in containers and make chips towards the end of school year but having raised beds to plant other crops and herbs would be lovely and the principal has welcomed and approved of this idea
- Build a bug hotel to provide temporary place for solitary bees and other creatures to nest and rest
- We are hoping to get a landscaper involved (volunteer) to get professional advice so we can plant everything with a long term view to do it properly according to what plants are suitable for its location. Landscaper’s visit will be arranged with the principal and in compliance with Covid19 guidelines
- Most planting will be done by the students with their teachers, on different times to comply with Covid 19 guidelines of having pods within the school. Also gardening tools will be sanitised after every class use.
- Some of the planting will be done by the caretaker of the school as well as creating raised vegetable beds
- This funding will not only benefit the pollinators once it’s done, it will also benefit the education of the children in the school about the importance of the pollinators, their basic needs, where food comes from and just overall bring them closer to nature
