Wilder Schools

Raising awareness

• Children and teachers learn about the project funding their involvement (e.g. the Wilder Blean bison project or the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project) through assemblies and workshops, helping to build a strong sense of local pride and ownership.
• Schools act as multipliers - pupils share what they’ve learned with parents carers, and their wider communities, spreading awareness far beyond the classroom.

Building future advocates

• By inspiring young people to care for nature, the programme nurtures a new generation of supporters who understand the importance of rewilding and habitat restoration.
• Pupils develop advocacy skills (letters to MPs, manifestos, campaigns), helping amplify the voice of conservation projects in the public sphere.

Delivering practical action

• Activities like wildflower planting, habitat creation and other eco projects directly contribute to local biodiversity, complementing large-scale interventions like bison grazing or habitat restoration.
• Regular school-led surveys and bioblitzes can feed valuable citizen science data into monitoring efforts, helping track changes in species and habitats over time.

Strengthening community links

• By rooting the programme in the local landscape, children feel more connected to flagship projects like the Wilder Blean bison introduction.
• This community connection makes projects more visible, supported, and celebrated locally, helping to sustain momentum and funding in the long term.

There’s a wealth of evidence showing that learning outside and spending time in nature has huge benefits for children and young people. It can boost physical and mental health, wellbeing, confidence, social skills, behaviour, resilience, engagement with learning, and even academic attainment.

UCL research commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts found that after taking part in outdoor sessions, four out of five children said they felt more confident, and most reported better relationships with classmates and teachers. Another Wildlife Trust poll shows that 75% of people think school grounds should become wilder, greener spaces so all kids can experience nature directly, and 76% believe learning outside helps children understand things they just can’t learn in a regular classroom.

We know children learn best when they are happy and healthy. If connecting with nature helps young people feel calmer, more confident, and more positive, then better learning outcomes are a natural result. Outdoor learning shouldn’t be thought of as an “extra subject”, but as a way of teaching across the curriculum that deepens understanding and mastery.

By exploring and learning in local wild places - including their school grounds - children develop not only a stronger knowledge of the natural world, but also a deeper sense of belonging to it.

The Wilder Schools programme gives children and young people the skills, confidence and motivation to become active champions for nature - at school, at home, and throughout their lives. By taking part, pupils will experience first-hand how their actions, both big and small, can make a meaningful difference to the natural world.

Immediate outcomes

• Pupils will gain a stronger sense of nature connectedness through hands-on activities such as wildflower planting, BioBlitz surveys, and other eco projects.
• Children will feel empowered to take action, developing practical skills in advocacy, campaigning and environmental care (e.g. writing to local decision-makers, creating manifestos for wildlife and leading eco-initiatives as part of the Wilder Kent committee).
• Teachers and pupils will co-create a Wilder Kent Awards action plan, ensuring that change is embedded into school culture rather than being a one-off experience.

Wider benefits

• Engagement with the programme will nurture positive attitudes towards learning, encouraging curiosity, teamwork, and problem-solving.
• Children will experience improvements in their mental and physical wellbeing, with time outdoors shown to reduce stress, build resilience, and increase confidence.
• Through assemblies and workshops, pupils will better understand climate and biodiversity issues, while also discovering constructive, hopeful ways to respond—helping to reduce eco-anxiety and channel concerns into action.

Long-term outcomes

• Schools will leave the programme with a stronger culture of youth leadership in sustainability, supported by trained eco-teams ready to continue and expand activities.
• Pupils will develop lasting values of care and responsibility for the natural environment, aligned with the goals of the Wilder Kent Awards.
• By connecting local children with local nature conservation projects, the programme will inspire pride in their community’s role in pioneering nature-based solutions to climate change.
• The skills, confidence, and attitudes developed will extend beyond the classroom, shaping how young people make choices and take action in their everyday lives—now and in the future.

Benefits to nature

• Creation of wildlife-friendly areas in school grounds that provide food, shelter, and habitats for local species.
• Planting of native wildflowers and pollinator-friendly species to support bees, butterflies, and other vital insects.
• Pupil-led initiatives that help reduce environmental impact, such as waste reduction, energy-saving actions, or sustainable travel choices.
• Regular biodiversity monitoring and surveying to track the positive impact of school-based conservation efforts over time.
• Stronger links between schools and their local wild spaces, contributing to a network of habitats that support Kent’s nature recovery.

The Wilder Schools programme is free for participating schools, inclusive of workshops and the resources required to deliver these workshops. The programmes are made possible due to project funding and/or corporate sponsorship and we are grateful to our delivery partners for their support.

Additional costs linked to actions taken as part of the Wilder Kent Awards will need to be covered by the school. Kent Wildlife Trust will support schools in finding suitable funding opportunities where available. Note, entry to the Wilder Kent Awards is free.