Author Kate Tiffin
Dragonfly Exuvia / Dave Kilbey
I’ve never been offered as the first prize in a competition before, but that is what East Sussex County Council decided to do when they organised their ‘Walk to School Week’ contest last May. The competition was won by Rocks Park Primary School in Uckfield and their prize was a visit by the Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Outreach team, including yours truly.
After arranging a suitable date with the school, I packed up the Trust vehicle with bug hunting kit, pond dipping equipment (including creatures from our ponds at Woods Mill) and games to illustrate the importance of composting and recycling, and set off for Uckfield. We were blessed with lovely weather and decided to hold our sessions in the school’s extensive grounds, although the Outreach service is equally capable of delivering sessions to schools without access to green spaces. Over two days we delivered environmental activities to all seven of the school’s classes, from Reception to Year Six, highlighting the importance of their school grounds and the environment around them.
The children joined in enthusiastically with all the activities and some Year Six children wrote letters to us to tell us how much they enjoyed their session:
‘The big highlight for me was the dragonfly exoskeleton. I only thought snakes could do that!’
Louis
‘During this stupendous event I learned things such as if you put aluminium in the compost heap, it will take millions of years to rot away.’
Joshua
If you would like to find out more about the Trust’s Outreach service, all the relevant information can be found on Sussex Wildlife Trust’s website.
Minibeast Hunt / Rocks Park Primary School
