Year 8 Challenged To Become Nature Champions

“We are one of the most nature depleted countries in the world, and whilst we may have some amazing wildlife in this country, it’s sadly in crisis: more than 40% of UK species’ populations have declined since the 1970s and a quarter of British mammals are at risk of extinction.” wildlifetrusts.org.

At St Bart’s we are keen to take action to support and celebrate our amazing wildlife and to encourage students to take more notice of their own environment and the actions they can take to improve biodiversity. Spending time in our outside spaces improves mental and physical wellbeing, as well as improving students’ abilities to effect change for good in their community, both inside and outside the school.

This week, Mrs Wall launched a competition with our Year 8 to ‘Make a Home for Wildlife’ and challenged them to create a space in their own gardens to encourage wildlife. The addition can be whacky, weird, cute and entirely original – as long as it is an effective space for nature. Each entry will be added to the BBC Countryfile Wild Britain national map and our local map in school, and entries will have a chance to win a prize. Students can use the information on the Wild Britain website as inspiration – whether that’s making a bog garden to feeding the birds, creating hedgehog homes or mini beast hotels – we can’t wait to see what they come up with and to celebrate the winner in BartholoNews.

The competition deadline is 1 February 2024.