Be a habitat hero this Outdoor Classroom Day
Join us for a special mission as we become habitat heroes!
On Outdoor Classroom Day (Thursday 23 May 2024) we’re calling on children and young people to be champions for nature and find homes for wildlife in schools, colleges and nurseries across the country!
By taking part in this nationwide, curriculum-linked activity, you’ll follow prompts to discover the homes for wildlife you have on your learning site – perhaps it’s pools of water where you could see frogs and newts taking a dip, a fence panel that spiders might use for spinning webs, or a pile of leaves where worms could hide!
Upload your findings to see them alongside all of the other spaces for wildlife being discovered across the country on this day.
Whether you have already joined the Nature Park or not, this Habitat Heroes activity is the perfect way to take your learning outside this Outdoor Classroom Day, to connect to nature and see the impact we can have when we all work together.
It's also great way to get ready to start your Nature Park journey. It will prepare you and your class for an essential first step in the Nature Park five-step process – mapping your site – so you can understand what you already have and focus your efforts on where it could be improved for both people and wildlife.
How to get involved
- Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date
- Head to the Habitat Heroes activity page for full instructions
- On Outdoor Classroom Day, gather your class and teachers to explore your learning site
- Use our prompts to identify and log habitats that you find
Don't forget to share what you are up to with us on 23 May using #EducationNaturePark, and for any questions you can get in touch.
Get involved
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Frequently asked questions
We’d love you to get involved across the nation on Outdoor Classroom Day, which is Thursday 23 May. However, you can still take part after this day.
The activity has been designed for digital devices – so access to any tablets or other mobile devices is best for this activity, and for exploring the discoveries being made across the country. However, we will have an ‘unplugged’ version available, and findings can be uploaded once you are back in the classroom.
Everyone at a school, nursery or college in England can take part - the activity has been designed regardless of the size or type of outdoor space that you have. The prompts in the activity allow you to explore all sorts of different habitats – we’d still encourage you to take part and you might be surprised by what you find!
We realise that mapping habitats might be a new concept for many educators and young people, and so this activity is designed to give a taste of what it’s all about, as well as the general themes of the Nature Park – connecting to nature, developing new skills and the impact we can have on nature if we all work together. It’s a great way to get started before moving on to mapping your site as part of the Nature Park process – a vital step that helps you identify where to focus your efforts and have the most impact on improving your site for both people and wildlife.
If you are already signed up to the Nature Park and have mapped your site, don’t worry! This activity won’t affect what you have already done and is still a fun way to get outside and enjoy exploring your grounds on Outdoor Classroom Day.