Following the second very successful Climate Action Conference in St Mary’s Church, Halesworth at the end of September, village environment groups were delighted to work with the pupils of Oak Class to explore ways of protecting and promoting wildlife locally.
The morning started in the churchyard, where the children helped to make a splendid bug hotel and two hedgehog home, under the guidance of Alan, Judy and Ann from Wilder Wenhaston. The class were then split into two groups.
Ably led by Kate and Alan, one group explored how the Commons Group have worked on Blackheath to create suitable habitats for reptiles and to restore and maintain the sandpit area for a healthy population of sand martins. The other group went with Marie from Blyth Woods to look at the development of a new space for nature in the village.
The children were given maps of the area and worked in groups or individually to think what could be done to encourage a wide range of insect, reptile, bird and mammal life to the area. They then shared their ideas with Ann, Geraldine, Alan and Marie, from Blyth Woods who intend to incorporate some of the ideas in their final plans for the plot. It was a real joy to work with the children and to see them so full of enthusiasm for their local natural environment. As the UK faces a Biodiversity Crisis, there was a feeling of hope and optimism about what we can do to help.
Thank you to all who took part, including Mr Stone and the other school staff who supported the children.
Rev Alison Alder
