Archive for July, 2008

Our project is to steer Priestlands and the school community towards a more sustainable future. The process began in March 2006 when we registered the school as an Eco School and since then the scope of the project has grown as have the number of people within the community who are involved. As part of an environmental audit of the school undertaken by the students they ‘discovered’ a derelict one acre Victorian walled garden within the grounds. Since then the students have been working alongside other people from the community (local farmers, parents and teachers) to restore it and turn it into a walled garden for the 21st century. They have already had many successes: after …

Read all of Priestlands Eco Warriors

St. Michael’s Primary School, Bournemouth
Hello, We are a primary school of about four hundred 4-11 year olds in the centre of town, and last July the whole school took a week away from the normal timetable to run a project. This was so that the messages of Roots and Shoots would have a big impact and the whole school community would learn about the issues.
What happened?
The week began with a special visit from Jane Goodall who talked about her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. This helped the children to understand why we had become involved with Roots and Shoots and the importance of animal conservation in the future.

Each class was asked to complete activities based on the three elements …

Read all of Roots and Shoots Community Learning Week

Rosemellin Primary School, Camborne.
Project run by Agent Norris and her year 5 class a.k.a. the “Rosemellin Woodland Rangers”.
Other people involved:

The National Trust
Cornwall Wildlife Trust
Cornwall Environmental Consultants
Agent Lambert, Project Coordinator, Camborne Science & Community College

Aims:

To design and develop a woodland ecological site on the school premises using the already existing nature area.
To give pupil ownership of the project by getting them involved in the design and some of the work.
To create links with local organisations.
To incite the whole school to use their outdoor area and link it to the curriculum in subjects such as science and art.

Summary of what happened:
The pupils set out to learn as much as they could about woodlands in order …

Read all of Woodland Rangers

All Saints Church of England VC Infant School in Sidmouth, Devon joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where All Saints Church of England VC Infant School is on a map and read about their local environment here.

Chesterton Community College, Cambridge.
We have been developing our school wasteland into a wildlife community garden for 2 years. The new garden has improved the school environment, created facilities for birds and wildlife. It offers a safe and peaceful space for members of the public to enjoy.

We applied for various grants and received money from Cambridgeshire County Council (Sustainability Grant) and money for Gifted and Talented summer school projects. This money was put towards working with a professional designer, paying for steps, a pond, plants, bird feeders and a raised flower bed. We have received volunteer help from students, parents and friends.

The garden was officially opened on April 21st 2007. The event included: a plant stall, card making, a treasure hunt, …

Read all of Wasteland to Wildlife Garden

Haywood Grove School in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where Haywood Grove School is on a map and read about their local environment here.

Camberwell Park Community Special School in Manchester, Lancashire joined Roots & Shoots: Mission Possible today.

You can see where Camberwell Park Community Special School is on a map and read about their local environment here.

At the Jane Goodall Global Youth Summit, in April 2008, I met Manoj Gautam and Raajan Subedi, who are two of the Roots & Shoots members from Nepal. Manoj and I became close friends very quickly and he soon asked me to come and visit them in Nepal to help with their conservation and community work. Two weeks after returning from the US, I had booked my plane tickets.

On Wednesday 23rd July, I will be embarking on a 7 week trip to Nepal and the Himalayas. I will be travelling the country with Manoj …

Read all of Jade’s Trip to Nepal

Although new to the program they are twinned with a school in Uganda who were one of the first schools to take on the Roots & Shoots project. The staff are visiting the school in a couple of weeks and will discuss working together on Roots & Shoots projects.

The school cares for children with severe disabilities.

They have been educating the children about British Wildlife. This is at a very basic level but is very successful with the children who search in the grass for critters and are learning how to identify the differences between insects, birds and mammals.

The project is going to be developed into a wildlife survey on the school grounds.