Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, the leading voice for wildlife conservation in the region, has launched a Wilder Schools programme to empower schools to look after nature.

With over 600 schools in Hertfordshire alone, there is enormous potential for their grounds to provide connected wildlife corridors and safe habitats across our landscapes. In addition, this offers an opportunity for young people to build a connection with nature and learn outside of the classroom, both in school time and beyond. 

The Wilder Schools’ initiative has been launched at a pivotal time in the nature crisis and forms part of the Trust’s strategy to see at least 30% of land connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030, working with landowners and managers, local authorities and individuals to give nature more space to thrive. All schools are being invited to book a visit with a Wilder School Champion who will come to the school, celebrate what is being done already to help wildlife and offer advice on attracting more.

The State of Nature 2023 report told us that nearly one in six species is at risk of being lost from Great Britain, and in some groups such as birds at 43%, the statistics are even more damning. Alongside that, the mental health of our young people is also cause for much concern. Wildlife Trusts up and down the country are running initiatives to connect young people with nature as there are proven health and wellbeing gains, including improved mood and reduced stress.

Heidi Mansell, Engagement Manager at Herts and Middlesex Trust says:

“As the Trust celebrates its 60^th year, a programme has been launched offering every school on our patch the opportunity to become a Wilder School, and we have been training a fantastic group of Wilder School Champion Volunteers to help us facilitate this.

“Once we are approached by a school, we’ll arrange a site visit and then report back to the school with practical and low-cost suggestions for how to make their grounds wilder. These can be project-based so the tasks are manageable and enjoyable, also providing rich learning opportunities along the way.

"For instance, a school might start their Wilder School journey with letting a patch of grass on the school field grow longer and seeing what wildflowers begin to flourish, then they might start a vegetable patch the following term and get their students involved in that. There are many possibilities but what we want schools to recognise is that their grounds are a vital part of the green network and they can do their bit to up their value to wildlife and subsequently help to provide connected wildlife corridors. That’s a fantastic learning opportunity for their students and will really help young people to connect with the natural world so that they will take care of it.

"We hope these steps to help wildlife at school will encourage those communities to take action for nature at home too.”

The Trust has already started working with a number of schools across the region and have received positive feedback.

Lucy Holt is a Teacher at Cranborne Primary School in Potters Bar, she says:

“We’ve held two community events over half term to clear and start building new projects around our pond area. There’s still a lot to do but we’ve made a good start.

We’ve had a donation of logs and stumps from our neighbour who had a few trees felled and a local gardening company who donated a wildflower meadow and four native trees. We also held another Big Dig community event. The children loved being involved. We’ve created a Wild Book Nook with donations of stumps from our neighbours.”

For more information about the Wilder Schools project, as well as ideas and resources, visit www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/wilder-schools or email wildersupport@hmwt.org