Primary school pupils take part in John Muir Award
June 19, 2018
Pupils at Bury CE Primary School spent four days discovering, exploring, conserving and sharing their experiences of heathland in the South Downs National Park during the Spring Term.
Two trips, funded by the Heathlands Reunited project, allowed pupils to explore two heathland sites near their school.
Discover: The journey started in January, in Bury Schools Forest School area behind the playground. Jonathan, SDNPA Education Officer, spent the afternoon with KS2 learning about John Muir, a Scottish born adventurer and explorer, who immigrated to America in 1849, aged 11. Muir spent his lifetime experiencing wildness, tying himself to the tops of trees during storms and wandering for thousands of miles with only the basics on his back. His love for wild places led to his campaigning for their protection in later life and ultimately to the formation of National Parks.
Explore: The classes’ first trip to Graffham Common was truly in the spirit of John Muir, with no toilet blocks, classrooms or wet weather cover in sight. Led by staff from the Sussex Wildlife Trust, they walked around the common in the morning and learned about the species that grow on heathland, common rights, burial mounds, rituals, and more! In the afternoon, they learned how heathland habitat is disappearing and the conservation techniques we employ to keep this habitat open.
Conserve: These new skills were quickly put into practice as the children popped pines and lopped birch, building an impressive fire that helped warm up some hot chocolate.
More exploring: The second trip to Wiggonholt Common, with RSPB Pulborough Brooks, involved a day of activities to explore the habitat in more detail. Pupils, now familiar with the most common plant species (heathers, gorse, Scot’s pine and birch), hunted for invertebrates and constructed heathland food chains. They saw cattle grazing and learned about ground nesting birds.
Share: Back at school, the children went into the Forest School area to compare the similarities and differences between the two habitats. They created posters and displays in school to inform visitors about the importance of looking after heathland habitat. The local community were invited to an exhibition in May, showcasing all their hard work, including some beetle prints that were inspired by the invertebrates discovered on the commons.
The prints are available to purchase from Bury Primary, contact office@bury.school We also have two on display at the South Downs visitors centre in Midhurst.
Celebrate: All the pupils and staff were presented with their John Muir Discovery Award Certificates at the exhibition in May.
The head teacher, Thomas Moore, said:
“The John Muir Award provided an excellent an flexible framework for our KS2 work this term. We firmly believe that connecting children with their local environment and community creates inspiring and exciting learning, which has shown in the enthusiasm and outstanding work they have produced. The children and staff were thrilled to receive their certificates, we can’t wait to do our next John Muir Award.”