Lower School Students Dig Deep with the Woodland Trust!

Students in the Lower School at Ellesmere College have planted five hundred hedge plants donated by the Woodland Trust to create new wildlife areas and improve the natural habitat near Lower School and on the golf course at the College.

Three hundred of the hedglings were used to create a hedge for a new wildlife area and to continue the natural wilding of land near the wildlife garden as well as to provide more screening of the Tennis Centre. The project was successfully completed thanks to the committed teamwork of Ellesmere College's Green Team, Wildlife Garden Group and the Survive and Thrive group, alongside some voluntary assistance from Mrs. Westwood's German IB class.

The other 200 hedglings were then used to create new sections of hedge on the golf course within the current hedge where it is too thin in some areas to support the wildlife habitat. The project leader, Cathy Allen, who is also an English as an Additional Language teacher at Ellesmere College, said: "It's hoped that, in time, through continued year-on-year planting, a thick protective habitat for a variety of species will be planted."

The planting project was a part of the newly-introduced John Muir Award for Lower Schools at the College and is a UK-wide environmental award scheme aimed at encouraging children to learn about and take an interest in the conservation of their surrounding area. The award encourages personal responsibility for the environment, and provides students with a sense of achievement as they develop core employability skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, effective communication and team working, while also providing extensive experiences that they can discuss in future interviews.

The hedglings were generously donated by the Woodland Trust, a charity that encourages outdoor learning and inspires pupils learning journey in a practical way to learn about trees, woods, and wildlife through projects that help the environment and improve school grounds.

For more information on co-curricular activities and leadership at Ellesmere College, please visit: Leadership at Ellesmere.

For more information on the Woodland Trust, visit the Woodland Trust website.

17th January 2020  Back to News