Words by Smiley Team
In a rare opportunity to immerse themselves in nature, 200 children from west London primary schools joined a wildlife workshop at The Green Quarter, soon to become one of the most biodiverse neighbourhoods in the UK.
Throughout the workshop, pupils from year 3 to year 6 explored the surrounding parkland, while learning about local history and how designers are encouraging wildlife, plants and wildflowers to flourish at the former industrial site.
The arrival of a bird of prey, Elvis the Harris hawk, drew excited reactions from the children. One commented: “I’ve never been that close to a hawk, and I thought I’d be scared, but he was actually really gentle.”
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They discovered how to grow their own food, water and nurture plants. Then, to take their new skills home with them, each child received pots and seeds to experiment with growing plants over the summer holidays.
Eager to practice their new skills, one child confidently said she would grow the biggest plant over the summer that would be “taller than the trees”, while another child said, “I can’t wait to come back to the park with my little brother, there’s so much to see.”
Letting children explore nature can help them value the environment and make them more inclined to protect it, according to the Field Studies Council.
The Green Quarter is just one example of how urban landscapes can be designed to incorporate nature into local communities. In partnership with The Wildlife Trusts, its developers, Berkeley Group, will create a variety of habitats to encourage biodiversity as part of their goal to help British nature to thrive.
Accompanying the children to the workshop, a local deputy headteacher Graham Cooksey, said: “Year 6 had a terrific afternoon at The Green Quarter – an inspiring development, showing how sustainability can be put at the heart of improving their area. Many children could not believe they were still in Southall.”
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The new neighbourhood will be 500m in length, featuring over 250 new trees and offering 1.8 hectares of green space for the local community – the equivalent of four football pitches.
One of the landscape architects behind the project, Kym Jones, explained: “The park was specifically designed with the community in mind, so to see the children enjoying the space and learning about the work that goes into planting and caring for the gardens has been really rewarding.”
To help improve biodiversity, donate to The Wildlife Trusts. Their campaign to restore 30% of the UK’s land and seas by 2030 will have lasting effects on the environment as well as people’s wellbeing.
Get involved with the effort to restore the UK’s nature by volunteering.
Find more information about the 30 by 30 campaign on The Wildlife Trusts' website.
