Education leader positive about Havant schools' standards

Saint Alban's pupils sowing seeds to attract bees

As one of four local schools selected for the UK-wide Polli:Nation programme, St Alban’s Primary School will now transform their outdoor spaces to become pollinator-friendly habitats.

Over a period of three years, the school will be supported by a Polli:Nation facilitator from Learning through Landscapes – the national school grounds charity responsible for the project.

Julie Newman at St Alban’s said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project and honoured to be making a contribution to such important research.

‘Not only does Polli:Nation offer the children a fantastic opportunity to develop their own environment to aid the declining population of pollinators, it also offers the perfect platform to consider our environment and pesticides on a global scale, while also involving members of the local community.’

The school will explore how it might grow more flowers, shrubs and trees, let these grow wild, cut grass less often, not disturb insect nests and hibernation spots, and think carefully about whether to use pesticides.

Once the project is fully under way, the schools will also have the opportunity to contribute vital data in a UK-wide pollinator survey from OPAL Imperial College.

David Hodd, the project manager of Learning through Landscapes, said: ‘We look forward to seeing the final results.’

Anyone interested in helping with the project can e-mail [email protected].