Our Story

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness about climate change and a renewed focus on learning outside and the need to teach children to appreciate nature and its importance, has taken more of a focus here at Aughton Town Green Primary School. We currently have 334 pupils and have cultured a tight-knit community, where everyone knows each other.

We are focused on developing pupils’ resilience, teamwork and social skills through a Forest School approach as well as improving our school’s role in local sustainability and environmental awareness. During 2021/22 a range of pupils across the school had access to Forest School sessions.

In November 2021 we arranged a volunteer day with 14 parents, teachers, and children to help with the work, with a clear focus on creating sustainable spaces, using natural products from the existing environment. There was no monetary cost to this day, yet the outcome were incredible.

It included the use of recycled bark from culled and pruned trees, moving existing rockers to create a natural seating area for stories and forest school activities. Land was cleared and set aside to allow for further planting within the forest, with the use of saplings, hedging and copse donated by the Woodland Trust ensuring a ‘nature friendly’ environment. The relocation of the bug hotel encouraged a range of nature for pupils to observe and explore. Not only did this reduce the amount of materials used and money being space, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

The Challenge

Having had an environment which had become overgrown and needed significant improvements to become a biodiverse environment, was overwhelming. We were looking closely at the specific needs of our pupils post COVID, deciding as part of our School Improvement Plan to implement a forest school approach for our learners. The development of our side was key, as we could not begin to improve these outcomes until it was accessible and useable.

Yearly maintenance of our trees meant that pruning and culling of some trees was necessary, but gave us a good starting point for our project. Our key focus was to ensure that the site remained sustainable, we want to ensure that wherever possible, only natural materials are used and that we recycle as much from the environment as possible.

With limited time and the availability of Woodland Trust trees, we looked to enlist volunteers to focus on two key areas of the site, the are designated for tree planting and a site which had become overgrown and disused. It was not clear how the site could be used but a rockery could be seen beneath the growth.

We couldn’t have done it without our amazing volunteers who were able to make significant changes to the two areas on the day.

Our Solution

With donations of wildflower seeds from the local community, we intend to further develop the wildflower meadow as well as regenerate the pond area to encourage our recent ducklings to return for another season. Wherever possible, grasses and weeds are composted within our composting bins and pupils are encouraged to plant vegetables and fruit within the planters. We aim to be as self-sufficient as possible, with the water butt used to water plants and top up the pond. In addition, when having trees pruned, we keep long sticks for den making and woodcraft.

Following the work undertaken by the volunteers, we have now cleared a significant area where we have 60 saplings to plant onsite that will take in carbon dioxide to mitigate against climate change. The trees will help us to adapt by providing shade, creating new habitats and helping to reduce the risk of flooding.

Through the development of a school ‘Green Team’ we intend to further develop the biodiversity of the site over the coming years and work towards the Green Schools Award. We are also now looking at other grants and funding sources to develop our larger seating areas and  continue to work with the local community to improve our area for the future.

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