Children go back to nature (From Swindon Advertiser)

Children go back to nature

8:20pm Tuesday 6th April 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

BUILDING towers out of twigs, sparking fires out of fungi and investigating the contents of owl pellets is not the typical structure of a school day.

But that is just what children at Ridgeway School’s hearing impaired unit (HIU) have been doing during a project with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

This project has been made possible by the Forestry Commission’s diversity small grant fund, which was set up to encourage people of any age or ability to explore and enjoy their local trees, woods and forests.

The trust has encouraged children from the HIU to experience the array of wildlife on their doorstep, using their senses to explore Clouts Wood, a trust nature reserve near their school in Wroughton.

“The sessions have seen their attitudes shift from that of ‘everything is gross in this wood’, to a sense of amazement at the complexity and beauty of a woodland world, says the trust’s environmental youth officer, Dean Sherwin.

The project uses Clouts Wood as a means of heightening the children’s senses to provide a richer and more fulfilling woodland experience.

“As this year is designated the UN International Year of Biodiversity we are doing our bit to make sure that everybody gets the chance to connect with nature,” said Dean.

“By focusing on the HIU children we hope to improve the self-confidence and self-esteem of an often marginalised group of people.”

Children aged 10 to 14 years, made colour palettes collecting as many different shades of colour of woodland items as they could to stick them to cards.

“They used their observational powers to explore the micro world of the mini beasts, and looked for contrasting textures such as rough, slimy, and feathery in a scavenger hunt.

Teacher Jill Nokes, said: “Ordinarily the pupils would never have come here, yet they are learning so much.

“They have learnt about food chains in the classroom, but here they are seeing it in action – from the catkins, that turned into nuts that the mice ate, which the owls then ate – it’s all brought alive for them.”