Wilder Schools - NHLF Bison Bridges project

The Wilder Schools programme began at Hoath with an exciting assembly about what Kent Wildlife Trust do, what the Wilder Blean project is, and how the grazers at West Blean and Thornden Woods are helping us to manage and protect such an important ecosystem. The children also learnt how they can help us to create a #WilderKent by taking part in the Wilder Kent Awards! 

The enthusiastic School Council at Hoath took part in the Action Plan workshop, to help solidify what areas of sustainability and wildlife protection the school would like to focus on throughout the programme. The children worked together really well and established a thorough action plan that will help guide their actions throughout the year.  

Class 4 enjoyed ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ workshop where they were read the storybook written by Alice Hemming to learn more about how European bison help many other creatures in a woodland habitat. The children asked lots of interesting questions and everyone learnt a lot about the bison and their new home. We finished the session with a fun game about habitat fragmentation to demonstrate why habitat connectivity is so important for nature to be able to thrive!  

Some of the School Council members took pride in showing us around their school grounds. It was fantastic to see their gardening area, excellent native hedgerows, a patch that has been allowed to grow wild, a forest school area, and Georgie’s Gentle Garden – a dedicated quiet area. It’s clear that wildlife and the environment is already a core value within Hoath’s school ethos.  

To kickstart our second day of workshops, we had an assembly where the children learnt all about access to nature and how to behave around animals when you come across them out in the wild. We discovered what different colours and symbols mean on right-of-way signs, practiced a new mindful activity, and found out how to visit some lovely wild spaces in our local area. 

Class 3 took part in a Manifesto & Mapping workshop where the children thought about what they most appreciate about nature and made a promise to take one action to help protect it. In the second half of these workshops we went wild outside, with the children each choosing a species to focus on and trying to find suitable habitats for them to live in. We used a measuring wheel to calculate how much of the school grounds has been protected for wildlife, and how much more we could continue to improve for nature! 

Afterwards, Class 1 & 2 enjoyed taking part in ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ workshop where they were read the storybook by Alice Hemming to learn more about how European bison help many other creatures in a woodland habitat. We finished the session with a fun game about habitat fragmentation to demonstrate why habitat connectivity is so important for nature to be able to thrive! 

After lunch, Class 3 went outside to play a fun and energetic game – ‘Climate Change Dodgeball’! This taught the children the science behind climate change and helped strengthen their understanding of the greenhouse effect. We followed this with some outdoor mindfulness, where the children were able to lie down on the school field and enjoy the sound of the wind in the trees on a lovely sunny day.  

In the last workshop of the day, Year 5 students from Class 4 explored the topic of eco-anxiety where they learnt how to look after themselves and each other when learning about the climate and biodiversity crises, and when taking part in environmental action. 

To conclude the Wilder Schools programme, the day was spent taking part in a whole-school BioBlitz survey! All classes were able to get involved in a fun-filled day of searching for as many species as possible within the school grounds. The children were armed with hand lenses, magnifying glasses and ID sheets and there was so much to be found. A highlight was finding a shrub in the gardening area that was covered in ladybird larva and pupa – an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at the lifecycle of a fascinating animal.  

A group of children from a variety of classes pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and joined us for interviews on camera. The video that these interviews feature in allows us to hear the voice of young people and understand more about the next generation’s relationship with the natural world. 

As a thank you for helping us to create a #WilderKent, the children at Hoath were presented with their very own copy of ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ to go in the school library. We can’t wait to see their finished Wilder Kent Awards submission in January 2026! Thank you to the wonderful staff team that supported and facilitated our work with the school throughout the year, particularly Mrs Phillipson and Mr Edwards for leading and coordinating the school’s environmental efforts.  

Our journey began with an exciting assembly about what Kent Wildlife Trust do, what the Wilder Blean project is, and how the grazers at West Blean and Thornden Woods are helping us to manage and protect such an important ecosystem. The students also learnt how they can help us create a #WilderKent by taking part in the Wilder Kent Awards! 

Herne Junior’s team of enthusiastic ‘Eco Warriors’ took part in the Action Plan workshop where they debated which of their ideas for supporting nature at school and at home were the most important to focus on. The team embraced this challenging activity and their school’s environmental action plan was soon thoroughly filled out!  

The Eco Warriors led a guided tour of the school grounds to show us their forest school area, pond, and gardening area – fantastic spaces for wildlife to flourish. Next, the group took part in ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ workshop where they were read the storybook by Alice Hemming to learn more about how European bison help many other creatures in a woodland habitat. We finished the session with a fun game about habitat fragmentation to demonstrate why habitat connectivity is so important for nature to be able to thrive!  

Year 3 enjoyed a short talk where the pupils learnt about woodland management and the ways in which grazers can help us look after certain ecosystems, before the Eco Warrior team delved into a session all about eco-anxiety. This group of passionate nature enthusiasts learnt how to look after themselves and each other when learning about the climate and biodiversity crises, and when taking part in environmental action.  

During the second assembly from Kent Wildlife Trust, the children learnt all about access to nature and how to behave around animals when you come across them out in the wild. We discovered what different colours and symbols mean on right-of-way signs, learnt a new mindful activity, and found out how to visit some lovely wild spaces in our local area. 

Throughout the day, all three Year 4 classes took part in their own Manifesto & Mapping workshops where the children thought about what they most appreciate about nature and made a promise to take one action to help protect it. In the second half of these workshops we went wild outside, with the children each choosing a species to focus on and trying to find suitable habitats for them to live in. We used a measuring wheel to calculate how much of the school grounds has been protected for wildlife, and how much more we could continue to improve for nature! 

During the environmental awareness day, the Year 5 students learnt all about water pollution and how this can impact both people and the environment. We even did an experiment to see the difference between how natural and non-natural materials break down in water. These sessions were finished with our fun Climate Change Dodgeball game which teaches us the science behind climate change and helps to strengthen the children’s understanding of the greenhouse effect. 

During lunchtime, a few pupils joined us for video interviews. They were very brave and did such a great job answering questions about nature and the environment, which you can now see in the video above. This video allows us to hear their voice and understand more about the next generation’s relationship with the natural world. 

We wrapped things up with an assembly that highlighted the achievements that the school has made over the course of the programme. Herne Junior has been working towards ensuring that no chemicals are used on the gardens and wild areas, installing bird and bat boxes, and putting in water stations for wildlife. They’ve also been encouraging litter free lunches, switching off electrical equipment when it’s not in use, running outdoor learning sessions as often as possible, and organising visits to local nature reserves!   

Herne Junior’s celebration day brought about something very special– a visit from the author of ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’, Alice Hemming!  

Alice delivered an assembly to the whole school about the book, the characters in the story, and the writing process that she went through to bring this book to life. Alice then ran workshops for some of the children throughout the day where they got to learn more about the writing process, develop their own ideas, and ask Alice any questions they have about the story.  

The children were presented with their very own copy of ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ to go in the school library as a thank you for working with Kent Wildlife Trust this year, and for helping us to create a #WilderKent. We can’t wait to see their finished Wilder Kent Awards submission in January 2026! Thank you to the fantastic staff team that supported and facilitated our work with the school throughout the year, particularly Mrs Hadlow for coordinating the school’s environmental efforts.  

Chislet’s Wilder Kent Awards journey began with a guided tour of their school grounds to see the amazing areas that they’re enhancing for wildlife, including their small orchard and quiet area near reception. Despite having limited space, this school has a lot of potential for supporting local wildlife!  

On discovery day, the children had an assembly where they learnt all about what Kent Wildlife Trust do, what the Wilder Blean project is, and how the grazers at West Blean and Thornden Woods are helping us to manage and protect such an important ecosystem. The students also learnt how they can help us create a #WilderKent by taking part in the Wilder Kent Awards.  

Later in the day, Class 4 took part in an Action Plan workshop, where they brainstormed ideas of how they can support nature at school and at home. The pupils then took on the challenge of prioritising which actions were the most important to help us decide what areas to focus on throughout the year.  

Years 1 & 2 took part in ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ workshop, where they were read the storybook by Alice Hemming to learn more about how European bison help many other creatures in a woodland habitat. They then played a fun game about habitat fragmentation to demonstrate why habitat connectivity is so important for nature to be able to thrive!  

This time, the children learnt all about access to nature and how to behave around animals when you come across them out in the wild. We discovered what different colours and symbols mean on right-of-way signs and found out how to visit some lovely wild spaces in our local area.  

Class 1 and Class 3 both took part in their own Manifesto & Mapping workshops, where the children thought about what they most appreciate about nature and made a promise to take one action to help protect it. In the second half of these workshops we went wild outside, with the children each choosing a species to focus on and trying to find suitable habitats for them to live in. We used a measuring wheel to calculate how much of the school grounds has been protected for wildlife, and how much more we could continue to improve for nature!  

Classes 3 & 4 explored the topic of eco-anxiety with a workshop about how to look after yourself when learning about the climate and biodiversity crises. We also went outside to play a fun and energetic game – ‘Climate Change Dodgeball’! This taught the children the science behind climate change and helped strengthen their understanding of the greenhouse effect.  

Some very brave students pushed themselves out of their comfort zone and were interviewed on camera for our Wilder Schools 2025 video! The children were asked for their views about nature so that we can hear their voice and understand more about their relationship with the natural world. 

For our final session with Chislet, classes 2 & 3 took part in a BioBlitz workshop where we took hand lenses, magnifying glasses and ID guides outside to see how many species we could find within an hour! The children discovered so many different plants and animals whilst learning a survey method that they can use in science and geography lessons going forward. Hopefully these workshops can be repeated as an annual tradition to monitor the wildlife on the school site.  

Excitingly, during this session a bat box was installed by George Cooper – local nature enthusiast and finalist in the Green category of the 2025 BBC Radio Kent ‘Make a Difference Awards’! 

We wrapped up our time together with an assembly that highlighted the success that Chislet has made this year! From installing hedgehog and bat boxes, installing water stations for wildlife, and encouraging litter free lunches, to promoting recycling, growing nectar-rich flowers, and hosting a community garden day – Chislet has made a huge amount of progress in 2025. To say thank you, the children were presented with their own copy of ‘The Bison and the Butterfly’ to go into their school library. We can’t wait to see their finished Wilder Kent Awards submission in January 2026! Thank you to the fantastic staff team that supported and facilitated our work with the school throughout the year, particularly Mr Mclean, Mrs Sydenham, and Ms Cousins.