Context and background of the project Natural Nations follows on from the award-winning Polli:Nation project which has recently run in the UK. This has had a real impact on pupils through an innovative approach to formal and informal learning. Pupils learn about pollinating insects and their importance and how they can prevent their further decline. Insects also have a vital role to play as a food sources for other animals – including birds. Studies in Europe have shown a decrease of as much as 76% in insect numbers so the knock-on effect could be equally devastating to other wildlife. Children today have less contact with nature than in previous generations and this can have an impact on their health and wellbeing. This project will ultimately help children and young people engage with nature on a regular basis bringing benefits to their mental and physical health, as well as their knowledge of nature. Objectives of the project The objectives of the project are to: 1. provide schools with the tools they need to deliver an exciting, creative and effective approach to teaching about the needs and benefits of wildlife, particularly insects and birds 2. enable teachers to deliver projects that affect culture change by engaging and enthusing children and young people to protect wildlife within their school grounds 3. increase the abundance and diversity of insects and birds in school grounds. We will achieve this by: 1. strengthening partnerships between organisations delivering environmental education and research in northern and southern Europe 2. developing accessible online resources for schools 3. developing the skills and knowledge of teachers and other school staff 4. encouraging schools to use practical, research-based strategies to teaching environmental topics with children and young people 5. enabling children and young people to become engaged with environmental projects where they can make a difference 6. increasing the contact children and young people have with nature every day 7. showing how a practical environmental-based approach to teaching can be accessed by pupils with additional needs. Description of activities We will develop teaching approaches that can be used across all age ranges and to children with additional needs. We will show how schools can deliver different activities through both formal and informal teaching approaches We will be sharing, adapting and improving existing and new resources between project partners to produce materials that support and enable schools to deliver the project. These will be brought together to create web-based packages for each participating nation. Methodology to be used in carrying out the project We start with; ‘Where are we now?’ We will review existing resources, survey methods and expertise within the group. We will then see ‘Where do we want to be?’ We address our project objectives and look at what we want to achieve through the project. The next stage; ‘How can we get there?’ will help us plan our approach in detail. The ‘Making the changes’ part of the process is the implementation of the project before we evaluate what we have done. Number and profile of participants We bring together five organisations from four different countries bringing together expertise in different areas of the project, with at least two members from each country. We will be testing and videoing activities in each country so that at least one school per country will participate in this element of the project. We propose multiplier events at the end of the project in each country. In Sweden, the UK and Spain we envisage 40 local participants and 10 overseas participants taking part in these events whilst in Malta our aim is to reach 30 local participants. A short description of the result and impact envisaged Our ultimate aim is for more pupils to have an understanding, knowledge of their local wildlife and to make a personal connection with it through learning about how these plants, insects and birds link to their local and European heritage. Then for pupils to able to help to protect them. Our project is carefully designed to provide teachers with easily accessible resources – with videos being key to helping them understand how to run a practical project. The potential longer term benefits We believe this project will have many longer term benefits. These will include: • teachers incorporating innovative and holistic approaches to learning to teaching. • pupils will develop critical thinking skills as part of the project as they develop their own understanding of wildlife and what they can do to make a difference • providing a lasting impact on teachers, pupils and wildlife for many years to come • building strength and understanding between partnerships. Using online platforms to share the project outputs we will ensure schools in the partner countries have access to information and resources that they can use and develop in years to come.
By implementing Natural Nations our objectives were to 1) provide schools with the tools to deliver exciting, creative and effective approaches to teaching about the needs and benefits of wildlife, particularly insects and birds; 2) to support teachers to deliver culture change projects by engaging students within their school grounds; 3) to increase the abundance and diversity of insects and birds in school grounds.
As biodiverse environments rapidly decrease globally, with studies reporting as high as 76% decrease of insect numbers across Europe, the project addresses the urgent need to support children and young people to engage with nature and contribute to increasing biodiversity in school grounds. This further responds to the European Commission’s EU Pollinators Initiative to address the decline in wild pollinating insects. Natural Nations addresses the need, firstly, to gain better understanding of existing school grounds habitats for scientific study. This supports better monitoring of biodiversity, including pollinator species and populations, as well as their habitats and the statues of connected food chains, such as birds and mini-beasts. Secondly, the project addresses the need to provide schools with innovative tools for increasing biodiverse habitats through practical school grounds changes and surveying. This supports the EU initiative in raising awareness, collaboration and citizen science. Thirdly, Natural Nations acknowledges the lack of access to nature which has led to concerns of ‘species blindness’, providing resources for teachers to deliver engaging projects to enthuse students to learn about in their school grounds.