How the Nature Park works
By taking part in the Nature Park, young people will lead the way following a five-step cycle which can be built upon year on year
The National Education Nature Park programme aims to embed nature-based learning in the curriculum, and encourage children and young people all over the country to take action to improve their site for people and wildlife.
The programme provides the support and guidance needed to make this happen, with five key steps in the journey and the actions needed to reach your goals.
Take a look at our video which explains the five-step Nature Park process in more detail
0:00
Students: National Education Nature Park!
Narrator: The National Education Nature Park empowers children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and to nature's future and we want you to get involved! Together we are creating a network of green spaces across England by boosting nature on school, nursery and college grounds. Young people lead the way in improving their site for both people and wildlife, all while connecting to nature and developing skills for their futures. Every small act makes a big impact! The growing National Education Nature Park is displayed on an online map, showing the collective difference everyone is making.
So, how does it work?
0:46
Narrator: You'll follow a five step cycle to boost nature on your site, which can be built upon year on year. Let's look at each of these steps in a bit more detail and hear from those who have been getting stuck in.
1:08
Narrator: Step one - Getting to know your space. The first step is all about exploring and learning about your outdoor space. Through creating a map of your site you'll discover what's there, what's not there, and how people and wildlife experience it. You'll begin to form a closer relationship with your environment, understand your starting point, and the strengths and opportunities your site has.
School staff member: We mapped our site, first of all to have a look at what we've got available, and then we've looked at all of the different activities to think what have we got for nature in our school ground, but also what we could improve.
1:45
Narrator: Step two - Identifying opportunities. Next up is asking the question: where do we want to be? Using information you've already collected, you'll consider what wildlife and people need to thrive and create a vision of what you'd like your spaces to be like for yourselves and future generations.
School staff member: Some areas were just grass that was all cut to the same length. But we've planted so many more trees, we've put so many more little structures in place so that we can get outside whatever the weather, and we've let lots and lots of it grow so that we're rewilding the site but we're also rewilding our children as well.
2:24
Narrator: Step three - Making decisions. Now it's time to ask: how do we get there? We've got a range of habitat suggestions for you to choose from, depending on your goals for your space, from growing pollinator friendly plants, to creating rain gardens. You'll work together to make a plan of how you're going to do it, and how you'll get your school, nursery, or college community on board to help.
Student: Well, we just listen to, like, what areas get, like, complaints about. And see if there's, like, nature-based solutions we can use to fix those problems. So, like, tech wall, too warm, how can we fix that? Put a green wall there. The green walls definitely reduced the temperature a bit in the tech zone. I think there's less people complaining about how warm it is in there now.
3:08
Narrator: Step four - Making change happen. It's time to put the plan into action! You might be planting, growing, building, fundraising and much more.
Student: So, um, we've got dead hedges like the one right there. We've made some other ones that are like for smaller bugs, and we've got hedgehog homes around the school too, that we've also made.
3:30
Narrator: Step five - Recording change. How has nature and wildlife improved? How do people use the space? Does the school community feel happier and healthier? This final step in the cycle is all about monitoring the difference you've made. It's also an opportunity to celebrate and share all of your amazing work.
Staff member: Initially the Eco Club themselves, they were really excited to get involved. Other students around the school have commented because they can see the green wall around there and during their break times and stuff. They've also had access to this garden. So yeah, they've all had access to these green spaces that we've put in.
4:11
Narrator: Everyone can take part, no matter the size, shape or type of outdoor space you have. You don't have to be an expert, and it can be linked to all curriculum subjects. The more people that get involved, the bigger impact we can have for both people and the planet. So, start your nature park journey today!
1. Getting to know your space
- children and young people will observe and learn about their local environment to understand what's there, what's not there and how people and wildlife experience it
- children and young people will take notice of nature and features on their site, and consider their own thoughts and reflections
- by the end of this step, children and young people will have explored and familiarised themselves with their space and begun to form a closer connection to nature
- they'll also have played an active role in scientific practices, fieldwork and using GIS technology, building green skills in identification and ecology and recording data
Hidden Nature Challenge Sound mappingHabitat Heroes
Creative responses to a placeHabitat mapping More resources
2. Identifying opportunities
- using information from data collected so far, children and young people will consider the experiences of others, including wildlife, to think about what could be changed or improved on their site
- by the end of this step, children and young people will have an understanding of the strengths and opportunities of their outdoor environment, and what they’d like it to look like for future generations
- children and young people will build green skills in interpreting data and creative thinking and decision making
Points of view 3D model making Biodiversity bar charts
3. Making decisions
- children and young people will feel empowered to work together to plan what improvements for nature they want to make on their site and solve problems
- by the end of this step, children and young people will have a clear plan of what they want to do, why they want to do it and how they will work together to achieve it
children and young people will understand the importance of teamwork and be able to plan for long-term change, developing green skills in creative thinking and decision making and communication
4. Making change happen
- this step is all about children and young people putting the plan into action and spreading the word about what they are up to
- children and young people will start to make change happen on their learning site
by the end of this step, children and young people will have worked together to taken action for nature, developing green skills in environmental stewardship and horticulture through planting and growing, creating new habitats and running fundraising and awareness campaigns
5. Recording change
- children and young people will record improvements in biodiversity, as well as sharing their story to inspire others and celebrate their achievements
- it's also an opportunity to reflect on what differences have been made and what has been learned along the way
- by the end of this step, children and young people will be able to reflect on what has changed and what they have accomplished, from personal achievements to boosts in biodiversity
they'll build upon their experience in fieldwork and GIS technology to develop green skills in identification and ecology, recording data and communication
Pollinator count Tracking changes on your siteMore resources
