As part of Biodiversity Year we have created a bug habitat area and the children are learning about minibeasts. We are encouraging bugs to live in our school garden. A ‘Big Tidy Up Saturday’ took place and mums, dads, staff and children cleared litter from the school garden and grounds. A ‘bug hotel’ was made, which we hope will soon have lots of minibeasts checking in.

During the months of May and June, several members of the Science department staff were working hard to clear the overgrown pond in the wildlife area in Fearnhill School.  Inside the wildlife area started as a mass of brambles and ivy, which were smothering the other plant species, including some water irises that were found in what remained of the old pond.

The first task was to clear the brambles and ivy (a prickly job!) before several 6th form volunteers came to help dispose of the many layers of plastic and carpet that had lined the previous pond.   This was no easy task due to the hot weather and the sheer amount of debris that needed to be moved. During this stage, …

Read all of Fearnhill’s Site of Scientific Interest – Mission Update!

As part of the mission to improve the biodiversity around Fearnhill School, 30 saplings, donated by the Woodland Trust ,were planted around the school grounds.  Some of these were planted around the wildlife garden to provide a wider range of habitats for various bird and insect species.  In the wildlife garden itself, the pond is being re-developed from a mass of brambles to an actual pond with a boggy area and several different depths of water.  We aim to have the pond completed by the end of term, so there is a lot of work still to do!  Some pupils are helping to make bat boxes and bird boxes to put in the garden too.

Last Friday, the Year 9′s were …

Read all of Fearnhill School provides habitats! – Mission Update!

As part of the Leadership training for our Environmental leaders, over 20 students took part in a plant identification session today with Cate Holliday, our expert ecologist.  After having developed a key for tree identification, students then used the key to identify the trees in our ecology area.  The next session will be to develop the leaders data survey skills to find out the biodiversity that exists in the ecology area. 

Have a look at the plan for the ecology area and some pictures of the afternoon.

Yesterday the Living Classroom Biodiversity Team met with Karen, our Project Manager, Cate Holliday, our expert Environmentalist and Jackie, a gardening friend of the project to look at how we can encourage Biodiversity across the school grounds. From the meeting the team decided the main area would be the Ecology Area and redevelopment of the natural pond.

The team now has to make an accurate plan of the area and will have an identification workshop at the beginning of June produce a classification key for the plants in the area.  Mid June the team will be carrying out an Environmental data survey with Dr Jo Henley, a local Ecologist so that we can then display the information for all students to …

Read all of Penryn College Creates A Plan For Conservation – Mission Update!

An important part of the Penryn College Living Classroom Project is supporting other schools in the area to ‘grow their own’ and encourage biodiversioty in their school grounds.

Last term the Living Classroom team visited two primary schools in the area, Perran-ar-Worthal and Mylor, and asked Year 6 students to think about how they used their outside spaces at break and lunch.  They were then asked what features they would like to see in their outside areas that would make it a better, brighter, more enjoyable place.

Most student feedback could be put into three groups of plants, seating and play and so the next step was to work with a local garden designer to come up with potential plans for development.

Next …

Read all of Penryn College: The Living Classroom Reaches Out – Mission Update!

It’s coming to an incredibly exciting time for Penryn College as we move closer to the opening of our Living Classroom project and the first of our planting events.

Since moving in to our new school site in September, the Eco-Schools Biodiversity team have been planning the development of the school grounds to reflect their interest in conservation and sustainability with areas identified for a technology garden, Organic Farm, Conservation zone, sustainable design area, sensory garden and mini Eden biome.

Over the last year they have been holding a series of planning meetings with local horticultural students, experts and conservationists to produce a plan for each site.  So far they have a completed the plan for the technology garden encompassing plants for …

Read all of The Living Classroom at Penryn College – Mission Update!