Walk to School 2021

This week is Walk to School week! 👣

The five-day challenge will take place from 17th-21st May and will encourage everyone to get to school by walking, cycling, scooting, parking & striding.... anything to get people travelling in a clean and sustainable way that will benefit our planet and local community.

Every school day, the school run adds a huge volume of traffic to our roads in the mornings and afternoons.  This puts large volumes of carbon emissions into the atmosphere which contributes to climate change.  It also impacts on the air quality in our local area which can have a negative effect on the health of children who are trying to walk or cycle to school and end up breathing in the fumes. 

Making the effort to walk or cycle into school this week will help to challenge and reframe our perception that it's easier to drive everywhere or that it's just too much hassle to walk.  Walking has so many benefits and not just to your physical health; it has been shown to improve concentration, boost creativity, and give people a better connection to their environment and nature.  You notice more when you're walking and it's fantastic to see the changes in your local area from one season to another. 

I've been trying to walk to school at least once a week (usually on a Friday) and to be honest, I really look forward to listening to a podcast on the walk in, and then taking a slightly longer more scenic route back home at the end of the day.  It really helps me to unwind at the end of the week, and it signals that it's the weekend and that I'm ready to relax and recover from a hectic week.  It's also shown me that it's not really that hard to walk in each day... and I can easily still do any errands on the way which I don't really need a car for.  And it saves money on petrol too!

Living Streets has a fantastic website with lots of information and ideas about how to help your school have a successful Walk to School week. Visit them here at www.livingstreets.org.uk 👣

Earth Day 2021

Today we have been celebrating Earth Day and it has given us a chance to stop for a moment and think about the impact we are having on earth, our common home.

We have had lots of good conversations in school today about what we do that harms our planet, and how we might go about changing those behaviours.  I have been so impressed with the ideas that children have had in school, and I think it just highlights the importance of making green choices every day and the significant impact this can have over time.

Schools are great places to start when trying to make big social change.  If we instil those green values in young people, then they are more likely to go on and make sustainable choices later in life.  They can also influence people around them and other communities outside of their school life.

For the last year or so, I have been exploring ways of making schools greener places to teach and learn.  Many of the actions we can take are ones we know already; turn lights off when you leave the room, recycle paper, bring a reusable water bottle, eat all your food at lunchtime etc.  However, these changes alone are not always enough to bring about significant change.  They are also difficult to remember to do in the hectic nature of a busy school day.  I'd like to offer a few different ideas that might help to make a difference over time.  Some of them might require more effort or time but I guarantee they'll make a difference (and might save some money too!) Let's see how many you might manage to do?! 

🌍 Exercise books are a huge cost and use of paper -> swap them for slim, cardboard files or folders - this will save paper and glue as you won't need to glue worksheets in all the time; it should also save you a good amount of money, and time as you won't have to trim worksheets down to fit into books

🌍 Food waste can be a big problem in schools -> involve children in deciding on the school menu - this will give them to opportunity to express a preference which will lead to less food waste; make sure you buy local and seasonal as well

🌍 Schools can be very harsh environments -> bring plants into the school and classroom - green has a calming effect on the mind and the plants will help to purify the air; you can make it a task or responsibility for children to have to look after them and water them on a regular basis

🌍 Lots of water goes down the drain every day -> install some rainwater harvesters around your school grounds - the water can be used for watering plants, topping up a bird bath, or creating a mini pond; develop a little outdoor space or forest school area in which to do outdoor learning

🌍 Uniforms are often bought new or thrown out after use -> create a system where uniforms can be passed down or bought second hand to save them going to landfill; it will save parents money too, and you should encourage children to care for their clothes and belongings and not treat them as disposable or replaceable items

It is also a great idea to create an eco-council or green club within your school so that children can take ownership of what happens and change comes from within.  Sign up to become an EcoSchool with eco-schools.org.uk and follow their steps to becoming a sustainable school community.

🌍  Happy Earth Day!  🌍

Activity: Planting sunflowers

Sunflowers are an easy plant to grow and very rewarding when you see how tall they've become!  In a few simple steps, you can get your own sunflower plants off to a great start and you can even do it using sustainable, plastic-free resources.

First, you need to get hold of some sunflowers seeds.  April and May is the best time to start to grow sunflowers.  You can easily find seeds in garden centres at this time, or sometimes supermarkets and hardware shops (my local ironmongers has loads of cheap seeds that are easy to grow!) If you know someone who has previously grown sunflowers, you could ask them if they have any spare seeds from the previous year.

To help the seeds germinate, place them in some damp kitchen roll and place on a warm window-sill for a couple of days.  This isn't essential but might just help them get started before putting them into the soil. 

You can then sow your seeds straight into the ground, or you might like to start them off in some small containers such as yoghurt pots or tin cans.  All you need is some fresh soil or compost and a trowel or spoon to dig the soil.  Place the seeds in about 1cm down and cover them over.  Make sure you give them a good initial watering.  

As the seeds start to grow you might want to thin them out (move then a bit further away from each other) to give them maximum space and light to grow.  Slugs and snails love to eat the new shoots so you can protect them by cutting the top off an old plastic drinks bottle and place it over your new shoots.  

As your sunflower gets taller, support it with a cane or secure it to a nearby fence so it can reach even higher.  If you like, you can feed it with tomato feed which you can buy from a garden centre.  

Finally, once your sunflower has bloomed and faded, harvest the seeds for next year so you can grow more sunflowers without having to buy more seeds 🌻

Earth Hour 2021

This time next week it will be the build up to Earth Hour 2021 🌍💡

The first Earth Hour was held in 2007 as a way of drawing attention to the environmental impact we are having on our planet.  Turning lights off is an easy action that we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint, but what other simple actions can we take to minimise our energy consumption?

I've been doing some research into schools and they are some of the most energy inefficient places you can find! From leaving lights on all day, to leaky taps, to wasting reams of paper... the wastage in some schools can be seriously high and this is sending a worrying message to young people.  However, schools are also an ideal place to highlight the inefficiencies that exist in all areas of our lives and show children easy steps to reduce our levels of waste and carbon emissions.  This will help teach them a valuable lesson and hopefully make them more environmentally responsible citizens in the future.

Here are some of my favourite easy steps you can take:

💚  Keep scrap paper to use for quick and simple activities that don't need to be kept

💚  Assign children to be classroom eco-monitors who can turn off lights and close windows

💚  Teach children the importance of looking after their belongings and not throwing them away as soon as they are damaged or broken

💚  Install recycling bins in all parts of the school and encourage children to bring in snacks in plastic-free packaging or reusable containers

💚  Have times where you turn off the lights and use natural light instead

💚  Invest in some low maintenance indoor plants to bring greenery into school and clean the air

💚  Install smart meters that help visualise the amount of energy being used 

💚  Incorporate some outdoor learning activities into your curriculum to help bring awareness to the importance of the environment and how much we are connected to it

To find out more about Earth Hour, visit earthhour.org and learn more about their mission

To learn about making your school more environmentally friendly, visit eco-schools.org.uk

 

Friluftsliv

If anyone's good at embracing the outdoors, it's the Scandinavians. "Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlig klær!" - "There's no bad weather, only bad clothes!" There's a lot to be said for this approach, and (aside from cases of extreme weather!) encouraging children to play outside every day and develop resilience is an important life skill.

Friluftsliv is another Nordic word/concept/expression which we can learn a lot from.  Literally translated, it means 'open-air living'.  This means getting outside everyday no matter the season, weather or what mood you're in.  This is generally a part of Nordic culture where there is an emphasis on spending time in nature and being close to greenery, forests and water.  Historically, this may have meant spending extended periods of time in the great outdoors, but nowadays it can mean spending a part of every working day or school day outside, either as part of or in addition to the normal outdoor recreation time.  

In Norway, Friluftsliv is included into the school curriculum.  This means that all children will be taught in an outdoor setting and will learn the skills needed to have adventures and stay safe when outside; this includes skills such as swimming, orienteering, building a shelter, foraging safely for food, using tools, and practising simple first aid techniques.  Some of the teachings come from the Sami people (who are indigenous to Scandinavia) and their traditions, which helps children to understand their culture and develop in a more rounded way.  This approach has been shown to improve social, emotional, physical and cognitive development in children and teenagers. 

The English curriculum includes some outdoors education but this is generally in the context of sport rather than learning about the outdoors. Forest Schools are becoming increasingly prevalent but this is mainly in the primary school setting.  Why not think about adopting some of the ethos of friluftsliv and include it in your curriculum?  What benefits could it bring to both the children and staff at your school?

Take learning outside this spring

The return to school tomorrow is feeling like a new start for many of us :)  The long winter slog is almost over, and the longer, lighter days are bringing us sunshine, new hope, and the chance to rekindle old friendships.  Why not take the opportunity to introduce some new ideas into your teaching too?

Taking learning outside has been shown to increase engagement and stimulate many more senses and types of learning than in the classroom.  Being outdoors facilitates more practical, hands on learning and encourages children to thrive who might normally shy away from participation in an indoor setting. 

Forest Schools have become a way of making outdoor learning more regular and this helps children to engage with nature and appreciate its dynamics and rhythms over the seasons.  You don't have to be an official forest school, however, to take advantage of the benefits of teaching outside.  Why not incorporate some outdoor time into your science or geography lessons, or even think of a way of taking maths outside or spending time having discussions during a PSHE session?  

Spending time outside may be a particularly useful way of easing the return to school for some children who may find the intensity and chaotic, noisy nature of being in the classroom a bit overwhelming at first.  Including some activities such as forest school crafts or team building games which can be done in an open space might help children interact with each other and remember how to play together.  

There are loads of useful websites for outdoor learning, these are some of my favourites:

🌳 The Wildlife Trust 

🌳 Learning through Landscapes

🌳 The School Run

🌳 Twinkl (you may need membership to access fully)

Have a search on Pinterest for tonnes of ideas, or look at the resources on my blog too:  learningthroughnatureblog.blogspot.com

Planting blossom trees

We are approaching blossom season! 🌸🌸🌸

To boost the amount of blossom trees in the UK, the National Trust is pledging to plant hundreds of blossom trees at different sites including London, Nottingham, Newcastle and Plymouth.  These will include varieties such as cherry, hazel and plum which all give beautiful pink flowers in the spring.  The project is hoping to boost nature in these areas where there is currently not much access to green space and to give people a closer connection to the natural world. 

The inspiration for this has come from Japan where each spring they have "Hanami" - the celebration of flowers at the arrival of spring.  Trees are in bloom everywhere you look and it creates quite a spectacle which people travel from far and wide to see.  By boosting the number of trees (particularly blossoming trees) it is hoped that it will create a similar spectacle in the UK and draw people's attention to the beauty of nature.  Many populations live in 'grey deserts' in the UK where there are large areas of no trees or green space, and this can have an impact on people's mental health, and their appreciation and respect for the natural world.  

Blossom is also plays an important in supporting ecosystems.  An abundance of pollen increases the number of pollinating insects such as bees, wasps, beetles and flies.  These in turn feed birds in the local area who can further spread pollen and seeds.  When looked at together, these behaviours all help to make a richer environment that can support a more diverse wealth of wildlife.  

Why not think about planting some blossoming trees in your garden or school?  The sight of blossoming trees can spark interest in young children and help them to understand the life cycle of trees and the seasons. You could even incorporate these events in to lessons, and do some research into places like Japan who have amazing blossom events every year!

To find out more, visit the BBC to learn about the blossom planting project; or kiddle to find out more about Japan's seasonal blossoming 🌸🌸🌸

Walk to school this spring

Although many of us are still in lockdown, it seems as though the return to normality is not far off now and schools will be one of the first places to get back up and running. Many children have still been attending school every day of course if they have learning needs or are children of key workers, but the return of all children will bring back the busyness of the school run and the increase in traffic that inevitably accompanies it.

With the restrictions of lockdown, lots of families have recently turned to walking as a shared activity and a chance to escape the confines of the house together!  I'm sure there are lots of people who previously would never have considered themselves a walker that because of lockdown have now embraced getting their boots on and striding out the front door on a regular (if not daily!) basis.

When lockdown lifts, why not consider incorporating this new found love of walking into your daily routine?  With spring around the corner and mornings and evenings already feeling lighter and warmer than before, the walk to school could become an enjoyable part of the day where you walk as you talk and digest the day's events together.  

Walking brings a whole host of benefits including improving circulation, strengthening bones, boosting your mental health, and creating a better connection with nature.  At this time of year, there are so many little changes to notice around you and each week there will be something new to see from the early spring crocuses and snowdrops to the slightly later daffodils to tulips. 

It needn't be every day, but even choosing perhaps once a week to walk to and from school will bring benefits.  You could even pick your day dependent on how good the weather is going to be!  Combine with other families to take it in turns to walk and collect children.  Some schools even have walking buses where children can join the line as it goes by their house.  Park & Stride is another initiative where if you must drive, park a little further away than you absolutely need to and walk the rest of the way to get some exercise and fresh air.  

For more information about how to teach your child to be road safe, visit think.gov.uk for more ideas and resources  

A Happy Green New Year :)

I think many of us hoped that as the clock struck midnight on the 1st January that things might start to change for the better.  Whilst I know that will be the case (eventually!), I think right now our reality is still a little distant from what we had hoped for.  

Environmental awareness seems a little lower on the agenda than it was before, but my hope is that environmental issues will not be forgotten after lockdown, and that people will become even more passionate about protecting their local green spaces and will strive to make the most of the nature that is always around them. 

If anything, lockdown is teaching us to get outside and appreciate the local wildlife on our doorsteps!  I have definitely noticed an increase in the number of people walking and biking when I go out for my walks and runs, and the little changes between seasons become even more precious and beautiful when you tune in so often to the world around you. 

Schools are having a particularly difficult time at the moment.  As someone who currently works in primary education teaching SEN children, I know the challenge of keeping the sense of school community and normality going for these young people.  However, for me I also see it as an amazing opportunity to get children excited and exploring their gardens, parks, school grounds... wherever they can get to!  Taking the time to get outside (which is definitely more germ-friendly anyway!) and learning about the world is so important and this period of time is a great opportunity to get kids involved in exploring outdoor spaces and beginning projects such as planting bulbs or making bird feeders for the winter. 

This new year, I'll be taking a bit more time to post about how to encourage green education and make your school green too, as I believe that our actions and behaviours have as much impact as any school lesson, if not more so!

Stay tuned for more #learningthroughnature this spring 🌳🌸📝

Greening your school

Today sees the return of many children to school and the focus (rightly so!) is very much on how to make sure everyone is safe and healthy in this time of coronavirus.  It is difficult at the moment to find time to think about the environment and making sustainable choices, but we mustn't forget to keep our environment safe and healthy too.  Schools are fantastic places to teach children about being eco-conscious and show them how to live greener and more environmentally-responsible lives.  Whether its through school routines, lessons, or activities where you come together as a community, we can all help to keep our planet at the forefront of our minds and help children become global citizens.

Here are some top tips for keeping your school green:

🌿 Put some house plants in your classroom and have different children look after them each week.  They will quickly learn what plants need and it is rewarding to watch them grow over time.  

🌿 Do a class or school litter pick where you clean up the school grounds or surrounding side streets near your school.  Children love seeing that they are making a difference and it might increase their awareness of littering in the future.

🌿 Turning the lights off once in a while (as long as its light enough to see!) is a great way of saving energy and it makes children calmer and more focused when they are working.  Try it during story time or silent or independent reading too.  

🌿 Recycling paper is an essential way of keeping a school green!  Schools use so much paper and ink each year that it is worth investigating a proper recycling system to avoid waste.  Look into buying lower-quality recycled paper for quick lesson activities that aren't going to be kept. 

🌿 Do some outdoor lessons where you interact with nature.  It doesn't have to be topic related, you can simply use an outdoor space as a different teaching environment for an english or maths activity that occurs in an outdoor setting.  The children will be more engaged and their senses more alive too.