The Educator Magazine UK May- August 2023 - Magazine - Page 60
Wildflowers seeds for every
primary school class in
honour of the Coronation
To mark the Coronation all state funded
primary schools will be sent wildflower
seeds that will empower children across
the country to discover the joys of nature.
The government-funded project was
inspired by His Majesty The King’s love
of nature and aims to encourage
children to learn about and improve
the biodiversity of school’s green spaces,
while making them nicer places to work
and learn. Improving children’s
connection to nature and spending time
outdoors will also help to support their
mental and physical wellbeing.
and other education settings into a vast
virtual park. It enables children and
young people to get involved in
taking practical action to improve the
biodiversity of their green spaces, then
mapping it online to see over time how
the virtual park changes. The National
Education Nature Park and Climate
Action Award are open for registration
from 18 May 2023.
In a collaboration between the
Department for Education and the Eden
Project, over 200,000 seeds packets
will be sent to schools, representing 40
hectares of new wildflower areas being
planted up across England to support
our pollinators. If planted together that
would create around 40 rugby pitch
sized wildflowers meadows – a small
but vital step in boosting biodiversity.
To support schools to celebrate the
Coronation, the Department for
Education has also commissioned a
series of lesson plans and other teaching
materials for primary and secondary
schools to explain the significance of this
historical moment.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said:
Giving children the opportunity to plant
wildflowers will not only make school
grounds more attractive, it will also
help the next generation understand
the importance of improving our
biodiversity, while celebrating His
Majesty The King’s love of nature.
The charity Living Paintings has also
designed, created and published a pack
of tactile and audio resources that will
enable blind and partially sighted
children to learn about the Coronation,
and the Eden Project has also created
free lesson resources for schools and
families to learn how to make
eco-decorations for their Coronation
celebrations using natural objects found
in their surrounding green spaces.
Schools and other education providers
can continue to improve biodiversity in
the months and years to come through
the National Education Nature Park which brings together schools, colleges
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To help young people understand the
historical significance of the Coronation,
we have also asked two history teachers
and curriculum experts to produce
lesson plans and other materials about
the coronation and the history of the
monarchy, which we are sending to
schools.
Dan James, Development Director
for the Eden Project said:
“It is crucial that we replenish our
biodiversity across the UK – and even
small steps can make a difference”.
Through the work of National Wildflower
Centre, Eden Project works with
organisations across the UK with projects
to make new wildflower habitats that
support wildlife and connect people
to the natural world. This is a fantastic
opportunity for the next generation to
see the impact that wildflowers can have,
even in small spaces.
By encouraging our children to plant
wildflower seeds we can work towards
reversing the decline of pollinators that
we are seeing across the UK which is so
important for our future.
The packets of seeds include native
annual wildflower species; cornflower,
corn poppy, corn chamomile,
corncockle, corn marigold and
night-flowering catchfly, which if sown
this spring, will be in bloom this summer.
The wildflowers will provide food for a
wide range of insects including bees,
butterflies and other pollinators in
school grounds across England. Each
seed packet covers around 2 square
metres of blue, white, purple, red and
yellow flowers that can be planted in
pots, beds or borders to boost colour
and biodiversity in school grounds
across England.
The Department for Culture, Media and
Sport has commissioned a film for
primary school-aged children,
explaining the history and significance
of the Coronation. This can be played
in classrooms or assemblies and gives
children the opportunity to discover
the history and importance of the
Coronation, the role of His Majesty
The King, and the significance of the
Monarchy around the world.
The National Education Nature Park is
just one of many initiatives in the DfE’s
strategy for Sustainability and Climate
Change that will provide learners with
the resources to live, learn, work and
participate in a contemporary global
society. Through climate education,
green skills and careers, the department
is helping to create a sustainable future
through education, developing the
skills needed for a green economy, and
supporting our sectors to reach net zero
targets.