This ‘World Environment Day’ we have been constructing a new home for invertebrates to provide safe hidey-hole habitats for pollinators and putting up shelters for future nesting birds to encourage more wildlife and increase the biodiversity at Queen’s.

Pupils began by creating a new wildlife ‘hotel’ that we hope can shelter anything from hedgehogs to toads, solitary bees to bumblebees, and ladybirds to woodlice. Pupils made it using recycled old waste material they found around the site and found fallen branches and old logs that have been drilled into with different sized holes in Design and Technology. Then pupils studying Food and Nutrition from Prep to Sixth-Form then put all the parts together in the hope it will encourage pollinators to help their growing of organic food in the Queen’s College Kitchen Garden.

In addition pupils have been putting up the new school bird nest boxes decorated by our pupils in their Art classes. These nest boxes will be additional to the hedges, shrubs and trees pupils have planted to help provide sheltered spots for birds to raise their young in years ahead.

This is all part of our site wide ongoing sustainability initiatives to help nature in school and encourage greater biodiversity at Queen’s College. This includes planting new edible hedges, growing our own organic fruit and vegetables, and rewilding areas at Queen’s that have been planted with wildflowers and left uncut for both the bees and butterflies.

These and many more eco-activities have been recognised with a signed special certificate of achievement from Sir David Attenborough awarded to Queen’s College, for making the school wilder and helping to bring back nature as part of a national ‘Schools For Nature’ celebration of helping nature run by WWF, RSPB, National Trust.

Sir David Attenborough wrote, “though wild in some spaces, the UK is one of the most nature depleted places in the world. Because this is our home, it can only be our responsibility to protect and restore it. If schools across the UK could all become a little wilder, the benefits to nature – and to young people – would be huge”.

Mr Mann, Head of Faculty of Art, Design and Food said, “young people need to understand the issues our planet is currently facing and the ways in which we can all contribute to protecting it. That’s why we’re building our pupils’ understanding of the importance of living sustainably at Queen’s. We hope they’ll strengthen their connection with the world around them and consider ways in which they can take action and give our world a brighter future.”