Derby Cathedral School improves its eco credentials with biodiversity grant

A school built on a brownfield site in the city has won a £10,000 grant to enable it to increase its biodiversity, teach pupils about the environment and undertake scientific research.

Derby Cathedral School, in Great Northern Road has been awarded the money as part of a Government-funded programme known as the National Education Nature Park.

The money will be used to create a wildflower area and a three-metre pond situated at the rear of the school site and Nature Park scientists from the Royal Horticultural Society and Natural History Museum will be analysing the data collected by students to help create a biodiversity map across the UK.

The school, which has had help from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust in planning the biodiversity project, hopes the natural environment will be used across the curriculum and pupils on the Duke of Edinburgh scheme will carry out some of the labouring and planting.

It is hoped that by creating a pond the pupils will see first-hand the impact they are having on the world around them by monitoring how many birds, insects and animals visit.

Head of geography Barbara Woodward said: “This scheme is aimed at schools in urban and nature deprived areas of the country and we are delighted to have secured the maximum amount of money available for our project.

“The year 10 students helped with a baseline summary for the application where we looked at what nature we already had on site and our keystage three pupils will collect scientific data for the national survey.

“Our keystage three pupils do a lot of fieldwork and we usually have to take year nines to Cannock Chase on a coach – if it’s raining we have to go anyway, whereas now we can have flexibility and go outside whenever it’s suitable.”

The school, which belongs to Derby Diocesan Academy Trust, has been offered the use of a small digger to help install the pond, but is appealing for donations of gardening equipment to help support the biodiversity project.

Head teacher Jenny Brown added: “This grant will enable us to instil a sense of environmental responsibility in our students while creating a greener, more sustainable campus.

“We want to inspire our students to become advocates for the natural world and take proactive steps towards building a more sustainable future and we hope this project will allow them to develop a lifelong interest in the natural world around them.”

If you have any gardening equipment to donate, such as spades, plant pots or seeds, please contact b.woodward@derbycathedralschool.org.uk