Habitat Heroes

Part 1

1. The first section of this activity can take place in the classroom before exploring the outdoors – or take place totally outdoors. Begin by introducing the concept of a habitat. 
   
   EYFS-KS1: For younger learners, you could begin with a story. Take a look at our nature library catalogue for suggestions on suitable picture books that introduce the theme of habitats. Follow on by asking, ‘What makes somewhere a good home for wildlife?’ (For example, food, shelter, safety, water, space) - you could also ask the opposite, and why certain areas might not be a good home. 
    
   KS2+: For learners who may have already been introduced to the word, ask them how they would define a habitat? What is a habitat? Can they name any habitats and what they provide for the organisms that live there? Feel free to make adjustments for older age groups to introduce the activity.
2. Invite learners to explore the Habitat Heroes illustrations (coming soon). This could be with small groups each looking at a different habitat, or as a class together – depending on where you deliver this activity, these could be displayed on a screen or printed and handed out.  
3. Ask learners to look closely at the different scenes:

• Can you find all of the living things (plants and animals) in this scene? Do you know what they are? (Learners could circle them, and write their names if they know them)
• What kind of place / habitat do you think this is? What would you call it?
• What are the similarities and differences between these scenes? (e.g. the features and types of living things)
• Have you seen a place like this before? Have you seen any of these living things or plants before? 

Part 2

1. It’s now time to be a habitat hero! Exploring your outdoor space, ask learners to think about the habitats they have just seen, and whether they have any spaces like this around their site. Learners may want to take the images around with them as a reminder.  
2. Using the Habitat Heroes survey on a smartphone or tablet, or the printable prompt sheets (both resources coming soon), learners will be prompted to find ‘a place that is good for’: bumblebees and butterflies, birds, worms, spiders, frogs, hedgehogs, or slugs and snails. You may ask learners to explore in groups, with each group looking for a different type of place – or try and find as many as possible! Remind learners that it’s okay if they can’t find the living thing itself – we are looking for places the wildlife might enjoy!  
3. Once learners have discovered a place for one of the living things, they’ll be asked to take a photo of it on their device. (Remind learners not to include any people in their photos, as these won’t be able to be added to the map) If using the prompt sheets, learners may wish to draw a picture of the space they have found on the reverse, or on a plain sheet of paper. 
4. For Key Stage 2 and above, learners will be prompted to answer some additional questions about the space: 

• What makes this place good for this living thing?
• What other wildlife might this place be good for?
• Take a look around you – what words would you use to describe this place? 

The KS2 prompt sheet download includes an example sheet with pre-filled answers to help, if learners are struggling with how to answer the questions. For younger groups, you may wish to discuss these questions as a class instead. 

If you are using the prompt sheets instead of digital devices, you can add your records to the map when back inside by visiting the Habitat Heroes map on a browser and clicking ‘Add record’.  

Reflection

After completing the activity, these discussion prompts can help you to reflect on what you found together, and how you could use this information to help you in your Nature Park journey:

• Did you see the living things in these places? If you didn’t, why might that be?  
• Did you see any other living things that were different from those on the list?
• Were there any places for wildlife you couldn’t find?
• What could we do to improve these places for wildlife?  
• What would you do in this place? Is it a place you’d want to spend time in?  

Once you’ve completed the challenge, download and print our Habitat Heroes certificates to recognise learners’ findings, and social media posts to share your participation! 

In your next session, remember to explore the Habitat Heroes map to see your contributions, and take a look at what others have discovered around the country! 

Note: All photographs taken as part of Habitat Heroes are reviewed before inclusion in our map, so please be patient as your contributions may not be visible immediately! If any photographs contain recognisable people or faces they will be hidden from the online map. 

Thumbnail image: © Habitat Heroes illustrations by Lizzie Lomax for National Education Nature Park