Wilder School - Wortham Primary

We spent the day at Wortham Primary, starting with a whole school assembly to introduce the Wilder Schools project to all the children and staff.

Year 4 are taking this project forward so first they drew a map of their school grounds and added all the features they could think of from memory. Then we went out to the playground to find out how connected they feel to nature.

Next it was time for some maths so, armed with clipboards, tape measures and trundle wheels, we set out to measure and count the different habitats and features in the school grounds. We looked for hedgerows, trees, playing fields, flower beds, nest boxes, bug and other animal homes and ponds.

In the afternoon we started to think about some particular animals that might need our help and whether the school grounds provide all the things they need to survive.

On our second visit, we worked with Year 4 to help them research ideas and use spider diagrams in groups to note ways to improve the school grounds for wildlife. The children shared their suggestions and there was lots of discussion to decide which ones were achievable. This led to the start of an action plan and we started to think about the resources that would be needed and how to go about getting them.

After break, Year 4 went looking for signs of animals in the school grounds and did a minibeast hunt, spotting nests in the trees and finding lots of worms and slugs.

After lunch we met with the Eco Council who explained what they did and some of the ways they are trying to improve the school. The Year 4 members explained what we’d been doing in the morning and we asked the Eco Council for their help spreading the word about the Wilder Schools project.

Then it was the turn of the Reception class to get outside and spot signs of wildlife and go bug hunting. They were so enthusiastic and found lots of interesting animals, a vole hole and tiny eggs which we think were slug eggs.

Year 4 now have a book in class to record any ideas they have and another will be placed on the Eco Council noticeboard.

Since our last visit, the Eco Council, including Year 4 children, have started creating a PowerPoint for a school assembly and have made a suggestions' box for ideas. Some of the classes have also been identifying and counting birds in the Forest School area as part of the RSPB’s Big Schools Birdwatch.

Today, the Year 4 class made bird feeders to hang in the trees in their Forest School area. We had taken along lots of willow whips which had been cut from a willow bed at the SWT Oulton Marshes reserve. SWT volunteer, Jane, helped the children make willow bird feeders using the smaller stems, while other children designed and decorated feeders from plastic milk bottles as well as making pine cone feeders and fat balls. Some of these were hung in the Forest School area and others were saved to use later.

We then looked at the Action Plan and started discussing ideas for a fundraising event.

In the afternoon, it was time for the Year 5 children to help plant a fedge with the rest of the willow whips. We watched a short video to find out what a fedge is and how to plant one. The plan was to plant the fedge between the playing field and Forest School area, making a natural barrier to help define the Forest School/wildlife area. First, it was time for some measuring and a bit of maths to find out how far we would get with the willow whips we had. The children then moved a log pile and cleared a long line of turf to prepare for planting. We discovered the ground was very hard and it wasn’t going to be as easy as it looked on the video! Holes had to be dug to get some planting started and the fedge started to take shape. The Year 5 children were going to carry on planting the next day and hopefully we can provide some more willow whips so that the fedge can be completed.

Today, we were able to provide more willow whips so that the fedge could be finished. It is already looking fantastic and separating the playing field from the Forest School area. As well as finishing the fedge, more willow bird feeders were made by Year 4 and 5 children, this time to sell at the fundraising day. Flower beds were weeded and then seeds sown. More seeds were sown in pots, to grow plants to sell at the fundraising day. We then talked about ideas for the fundraising day and decided we needed another day of planning before it takes place.  

During this visit, the Year 4 children discussed ideas for the fundraising day. Working in four groups they planned an assembly to be delivered in front of the whole school and parents/carers, wrote invitations and made posters, practiced leading tours around the Forest School area and made plans and signs for fundraising stalls.
In the afternoon the Year 5 children, helped to weed and tidy the Forest School area, make nest boxes from kits and designed posters.

Today was the fundraising day, so there was lots of activity first thing to get ready to welcome parents/carers into the school and everyone in Year 4 had a part to play. First there was an assembly for the whole school and the parents/carers. Deborah gave a short introduction about the Wilder Schools project, and then some of the Year 4 children explained what they had been doing in school and how the parents/carers could now help.

Next up was a raffle with the prizes having been donated by local businesses and which raised a lot of money. Then, there were tours of the Forest School area to show the changes that have taken place, and tea and cake offered for a donation. The Year 4 children took charge of stalls which were full of donated plants, books, toys, willow bird feeders and bird food and enjoyed trying to drum up trade for their particular stall. Children from each class came out and there was generally lots of excitement as items were swapped for a donation, raising lots of money for the Wilder Schools project.

During this visit, we aimed to explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things. First, Year 4 and 5 looked for invertebrates and found a variety of different ones which they identified. Then, they followed a leaf key trail to identify different tree leaves and using this knowledge and a tree ID key they tried to identify those in the Forest school area. We finished by playing a ‘Guess what’ game, with children taking it in turns to be a creature or leaf  and answering questions ‘yes or ‘no’ until someone guessed correctly what they were.