A360 Eco Strategy

Boosting Nature in Education Part of a Wider Global Nature Park - 2024

Boosting Nature at Academy 360 Nature is in trouble, and we know that young people and educators want to act and make a difference for the planet. The National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Awards empower children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature’s future. That’s where Academy 360 can help.

We became involved in this programme in the summer term of 2024, which provided us with the resources, support and guidance needed to put nature at the heart of education. Embedding nature across everyday teaching and learning will give every child and young person in our school the opportunity to develop a meaningful connection to nature, contribute to nature recovery across the country and build resilience for a changing world. The programme develops a growing network of nurseries, schools and colleges, working together for nature to create spaces that lend themselves to be part of the wider global nature park.

The programme benefits are: Supports the curriculum with free, high quality teaching and learning resources Upskills and builds educator confidence Contributes to nature recovery Improves wellbeing Adds to real scientific research Supports Climate Action Plans.

Part of a Wider Global Nature Park - 2024

ACADEMY 360, WORKING IN CONJUNCTION WITH:

Part of a Wider Global Nature Park - 2024

RECEPTION Imagining Our Space Bird Feeders Watercolour Designs

EYFS Imagining Our Space Reception were given the task of choosing where they would like the new equipment to be in our school. They thought hard about where the children in each year group would like each feature to be. For example, Isabella thought it would be nice to have the hedges outside our primary gate to make our outside look welcoming to visitors.

EYFS We also read Grandad’s Secret Garden. We took inspiration from the book and wanted to design our own garden full of beautiful and colourful flowers.

Just look at our gorgeous artwork!

EYFS ‘I would like to plant more flowers outside to make our yard look nice.’

- Sienna

EYFS Bird Feeders In Reception, we were given the task of making our own bird feeders. We researched what birds like to eat and found that they like to eat mixed seeds. We then looked at different kinds of bird feeders and saw that people mix lard with the seeds, so they can hold the seeds together. We then hung them around our environment to attract the birds.

YEAR 1 Generating Ideas for Improvement Life Size Planning Planning Your Project: A Nature Park Audit Binoculars Art Focus

YEAR 1 Generating Ideas for Improvement; Life Size Planning; Planning Your Project: A Nature Park Audit In science, Year 1 have been learning to name and describe different common animals. Our discussion got us thinking about what animals we might in our outdoor environment.

First, we listened carefully to hear any animals and then we used our eyes to spot any animals.

We could hear some cheeping noises and soon realised they were from birds flying in the sky. We weren’t sure what the birds looked like as they were just too far away!

This then led us to think about what birds like and how we could get birds to visit our garden. .

YEAR 1 We thought about how we could spot more birds in our outdoor environment We watched a short video all about birds to help us with our ideas!

“We need to be quiet and hide so that we don’t frighten away the birds.’’

- Matilda

“You need binoculars to see birds more closely.’’

- Joshua

“ They live in nests, in trees and eat worms.’’

- Mia

YEAR 1 We researched and designed binoculars.

We collated a list of things we would need.

YEAR 1 Using our designs we created binoculars to use for bird watching!

YEAR 1 We looked at photographs of birds and used these as a stimuli to create bird artwork using watercolours.

“Can you see its wings and red chest?’’

- Bethany

YEAR 1 “I hope we get robins in our garden’’ - Willow

YEAR 1 We shared the story ‘Grandad’s Secret Giant’. This inspired us to plan our own garden to attract birds and other creatures. We designed our garden using an aerial map of the area outside of our classroom.

YEAR 2 Nature Plan and Half Term Planner Hidden Nature Challenge - Getting to Know Your Space Bird Houses Art Focus

YEAR 2 Nature Plan and Half Term Planner; Hidden Nature Challenge - Getting to Know Your Space We have spent lots of time in our school grounds, observing and recording the different quantities of each species of animal that lived in our outdoor environment. We decided that we wanted to attract a wider range of birds, insects and nocturnal animals, such as bats, to our garden. .

YEAR 2 Year 2 have also spent time researching, designing and making bird houses, from recycled and biodegradable materials, such as cardboard.

YEAR 2 “We also want the houses to be good for bats, so we get more wildlife. We might use dark colours.”

- Freddie

YEAR 2 Year 2 have been researching the works of artist Eric D. Greene. He uses oil pastels to create beautiful flowers in his artwork. We spent some time creating our own pieces, in the same medium, based on the flowers found around school.

YEAR 2 “I loved doing the art. It was nice to make picture of the things we see every day.”

- Leah

YEAR 2 Year 2 also helped the team of gardeners to plant a range of shrubs, small trees and other species in our outdoor spaces.

YEAR 3 Map and Improve Habitats Write a Vision Statement Clay Stepping Stones Art Focus

YEAR 3 Map and Improve Habitats; Write a Vision Statement We spent some time outside exploring the different habitats on site. We then discussed how we could improve the habitats to make them more welcoming to wildlife. We used our findings to consider our vision for our school and then began writing our very own vision statement for our new nature park.

YEAR 3 “I loved seeing where everything lives and how we can help them.”

- Alex

YEAR 3 Clay Stepping Stones We developed our DT skills by designing our own stepping stones to use within our own nature park.

We discussed different natural resources we could use to imprint our designs in the clay.

Once we were happy with our designs, we collected the resources and made our own clay stepping stones.

YEAR 3 Watercolour Birds For our art focus, we looked at watercolour paintings of birds. First, we explored sketching techniques by drawing our own birds. Then, we experimented with water colours before creating our final piece.

YEAR 4 Ideas for Improvement Investigate Weather and Microclimates Write a Vision Statement Wind Chimes Art Focus

YEAR 4 Investigate Weather and Microclimates In Year 4, we investigated the the temperature changes in four contrasting locations on the school site. We chose the large field, the small field, the entrance gate to our school and near our climbing frame. We worked in groups to collect, analyse and compare this data, with this fieldwork deepening our knowledge of geographical processes, and be able to interpret a range of sources of geographical information.

YEAR 4 Ideas for Improvement After we explored our school, we thought about what actions we could take to improve our site for biodiversity.

We learned about a lot of different options and solutions we could support with to reach our goals and be effective. We came up with our own improvement ideas and discussed which were more suitable for us and which would have the biggest impact on our site. After completing this task, we discussed our vision that we had for our school and then began writing our very own vision statement for our new nature park.

YEAR 4 Wind Chimes We developed our DT skills by designing our own wind chimes to use within our own nature park.

We thought about the best recycled materials we could use which would not be affect by the weather.

“We need something that would turn into mush in the rain!”

YEAR 4 Art Focus- Flowers To further our creative knowledge, we looked at the artist Tim Baker and used his style to develop our own art of flowers we see around our learning site.

We sketched our dandelions and daisies, and used watercolours.

YEAR 4 “It is important to shade the flower to make is easier to see what kind of flower it is.”

YEAR 5 Shade Mapping Write a Poem Write a Vision Statement Bird Houses Art Focus

YEAR 5 Shade Mapping; Write a Poem; Write a Vision Statement We have spent lots of time in our school grounds, observing and recording the different types of wildlife we could spot. We decided that we wanted to attract a wider range of birds and therefore, they would need a feeder to entice them. We also, looked at the amount of sunlight we get in different areas of the school grounds.

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YEAR 5 We used research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing product that was fit for purpose, aimed at the different types of birds we want to attract.

YEAR 5 “We need to make sure the base of the bird feeder is strong so it can hold the bird whilst it is eating”.

- Ollie

YEAR 5 Year 5 have been researching the works of artist Kathie Miller. She uses pastels to create beautiful wildlife and animal art in a photo realistic and contemporary style.

We spent some time creating our own pieces, in the same medium, based on images of seagulls from beach school.

YEAR 5 We became competent in the geographical skills to collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepened our understanding of geographical processes and be able to interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs.

YEAR 5 We read a poem by Dom Conlon and respond to it with our own ideas and feelings of what we’d like our site to include for future generations. We included six ideas of what our new space isn’t (“Our message is not written in...”) and what it is (“It is written in...”) and described a vision of what it might be like.

YEAR 6 Shade Mapping Write a Poem Write a Vision Statement Clay Plant Pots Art Focus

YEAR 6 Write a vision statement Year 6 were given several tasks linked to our outside area. The first task we undertook was to write a vision statement for our new Nature Park.

At Academy 360, we envision a lively and enchanting outdoor space where children can explore, learn, and grow; surrounded by the wonders of nature. Our goal is to create a magical environment where children can discover amazing plants, animals, and ecosystems, sparking their curiosity and a love for the natural world. We aim to create a sense of adventure and responsibility in every child, encouraging them to become inspired and empowered by their environmental experiences.

Whether they are planting gardens, observing wildlife, or conducting scientific experiments, we want our students to feel inspired and empowered by their experiences in the nature park.

Our vision is to inspire young minds to become proactive guardians of our planet, ready to take on the challenges of the future with knowledge, creativity, and a heartfelt connection to the natural world.

YEAR 6 Art Focus We thought about the beautiful flower gardens and planters that were going to be created. In Art, we sketched some of our favourite flowers then used oil pastels to colour them. We loved the the richness of colour that we managed to achieve, using the oils.

YEAR 6 I wanted my flowers to be vibrant so they really stand out. That’s how flowers should be - Alfie

YEAR 6 Write a Poem To us, our Nature Park is going to be our own little contribution to improving the world. We used Dom Conlon’s poem ‘New Gold’ to help us write our own poems of what our Nature Park means to us and our school. Here is our class versions of the poem.

YEAR 6 We tried to think of some of the things money is wasted on then match them to beautiful things to make the world better - Tiffani

YEAR 6 Shade Mapping We carried out a ‘shade mapping’ activity on our school grounds.

We recorded the percentage of shade in each area of the school’s outdoor area.

The results showed that we have a very open school ground and very few areas are shaded.

YEAR 6 Shade Mapping

YEAR 6 It was really interesting to investigate the areas of shade in our school grounds. I was surprised at how there were not many shady spots - Ted

OUR PLANTS ARRIVE On 20th June, our plants arrived from Bishopwearmouth Garden Centre. We could immediately see by just observing the delivery what a difference the plants were going to make to our grey space. we set about planting immediately. The whole school supported in some way.

WATERING PLANTS & GARDEN MAINTENANCE In order to ensure that our plants flourished in our outdoor space, we needed to maintain them every day by ensuring that they were well fed and watered.

Our pupils helped to do this and led on their maintenance. Our grey to Green spaces have been vastly improved and the children were Very proud of their work.

LIVING WALL AND GRASSES Our Living wall is absolutely fabulous and we are looking forward in seeing the coverage over the coming years, the seasonal plants really compliment this work. The grasses from the sand planters really break this grey area up.

GARDENING SHED, TOOLS AND POTTING The Access to our new garden shed and potting area is absolutely fabulous. this is a huge help to have access to the correct tools and equipment to maintain our lovely areas.