A Stoke Newington primary school is rewilding their playground to help children learn about nature and look after the environment
A Hackney primary school is turning its playground into a wildlife-friendly space to help educate children about nature.
The rewilding project at William Patten Primary School, Stoke Newington, is encouraging children to look after the environment and create new habitats for urban wildlife, as the project creates more nature-based activities in the school’s curriculum.
The initiative is led by Hackney Outdoors, which runs nature projects all across London, and began on 19 March when parents volunteered alongside their children. They planted a medicinal herb garden border, sunflower seeds, and created log habitats for worms, centipedes, small mammals and fungi.
When finished, the playground will include an outdoor learning space which will be open in non-school hours to the wider community so they can engage with nature too.
“The project will help William Patten’s schoolchildren get closer to nature and make the site more climate resilient,” says Nina Lovelace, director of Hackney Outdoors. “Young people can feel overwhelmed with climate concern; if we can show them practically how they can make a difference locally, we can inspire them to continue this throughout their lives.”
Pond, orchard, and sensory garden
The school is also working with biodiversity project specialists Growing Green, who helped plan the project with Hackney Outdoors and donated plants for the first stage of rewilding that took place this week.
The year-long project has started with removing artificial turf from the current site. It will redevelop the playground to include a pond, a mini orchard, more trees, a mud play kitchen, water recycling facilities, and a sensory garden for children to play in.
Claudia Kretzschmar, co-founder of Growing Green, believes the project will improve children’s mental and physical health as well as teaching them about caring for the environment: “Disconnection from nature is a widespread problem, even though we as humans are nature. Children need to love nature to fight for its protection and restoration.”
Plans for the project began when Lovelace wanted to develop the school’s Nature Club activities, which she was running, so the children could “observe bugs, bees, butterflies and birds in their playtime, as well as stay outdoors more easily in all weathers”.
She also ran a workshop for the school’s Eco Team to learn about the importance of herbs, both to wildlife and to human health. The team were consulted throughout the planning process of the rewilding project.
“We had the kids’ support,” she explains. “They were especially excited with the idea of having a mini orchard and herbs to use, and they also kicked off a sunflower-growing competition that will involve the whole school.”
Lovelace is keen to have the children finalise the “look and feel of the nature play and sensory garden”, and hopes to support other schools once this project is finished: “If we renatured every playground, garden, park and balcony in London, imagine the difference we could all make.”
The fundraising needed to complete the rewilding project is estimated at £20,000, and Hackney Outdoors has applied for grants to reach this goal.
But the school children’s parents have already cut into the target with more than £4,000 raised through a silent auction. This has included tickets to see the theatrical adaptation of anime classic Spirited Away, London Zoo tickets, and an exclusive four-night stay in the French Alps.
“We have had massive support from local parents and the shops who are part of the Stoke Newington Business Association,” says Lovelace. “We will then run a Crowdfunder during April and the start of May.”
The Year 6 children at William Patten will be creating a short video to publish on the Crowdfunder page to help secure the final donations needed to complete the project.
To donate or help towards the cause, please email nina@hackneyoutdoors.co.uk
