The Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project is a multi-partner habitat and river restoration project and is an example of what can be achieved for nature through collaboration.
A key aim of the project is habitat and river restoration; re-wetting and creation of wetland habitat. Another is species recovery and monitoring of the project’s priority species, including yellowhammer, water vole, lapwing, adder, man orchid, water crowfoot and brown trout. Community engagement is crucial to the success of the project, working with various local stakeholders, such as landowners, community groups, local residents and schools.
As part of this groundbreaking project, Kent Wildlife Trust’s education team engaged with five schools within the Darent Valley landscape, teaching them about the work of the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery project and helping to foster long-term relationships that will last the 20+ years of the project.
This “Wilder Schools” programme was able to support the schools just starting on their Wilder Kent Awards journey. As well as supporting these schools to take action for nature, we delivered a range of hands-on workshops, teaching the pupils about their local wildlife, conducting bio-blitz surveys, making bird feeders and helping them create their manifestos for wildlife.
To kickstart the project, Kent Wildlife Trust gave an assembly about the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project and the Wilder Kent Awards to explain why the project is important and how the children at Anthony Roper can help! Throughout the day the children took part in fun workshops where they prioritised ideas about protecting wildlife, reducing carbon, improving sustainability, and engaging with nature. This helped us the pupils to create an action plan for the year ahead.
We also had a tour of the school grounds to see the amazing gardening and forest school areas, and to identify more spaces where we could help nature thrive.
In February, we assessed the school’s action plan which included creating a pond, introducing hedgehog, bird, and bat boxes, and forming their Wild Team! Next, the children learnt about the birds of Kent and enjoyed making their own pinecone bird feeders. The pupils wrote a ‘Manifesto for Wildlife’ and made their own pledges to help nature and the environment. Lastly, classes put their maths skills to the test by measuring how much space could be allocated for wildlife within the school grounds!
During this visit Year 1 learnt all about ocean pollution, finding out where pollution comes from, how long things take to break down in the ocean, and what we can do to help. We then joined Wild Team outside to play some games about habitat fragmentation and climate change.
Next, we set off to the Forest School area with Mrs Hughes where I got to see the new pond, minibeast hotel, and bird and bat boxes. The Wild Team were feeling energised and decided to clear a patch of earth for a beautiful wildflower meadow!
When the summer term came around, we used ID guides to learn about native wildlife. Children listened to a variety of bird calls to become more familiar with them and spent time inspecting and describing the shape of tree leaves. I was amazed to hear that the school has planted an orchard on site to support wildlife and encourage food that is locally grown. At the end of the day, Year R enjoyed a minibeast hunt and learnt about habitats by playing a fun game before it was sadly time to go. What a fantastic adventure!
We were delighted that Anthony Roper went on to achieve a Silver Wilder Kent Award on their first year of entry. A huge congratulations again to everyone involved for all your hard work!
The Gardening Area at Anthony Roper
Bug hotel in garden area
Water butts
Monitoring single-use water bottle data
Our journey began with a tour of the school from Mrs Philpott who showed me the amazing facilities on site including a Forest School area and quiet garden. An assembly about the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project and the Wilder Kent Awards explained why the project is important and how the children at Horton Kirby can help! Throughout a series of fun workshops, pupils discussed their priorities for protecting wildlife, reducing carbon, improving sustainability, and engaging with nature, and created their own action plan for the year ahead. They decided to write letters to the head teacher, parents, and local MPs.
We began with an engaging workshop where we went outdoors to measure how much space could be set aside for nature at Horton Kirby. The children enjoyed using the measuring sticks to create maps and sketch out their ideas. Next was a ‘Birds of Kent’ workshop where children learnt about native birds and made their own pinecone bird feeders to hang up around the school playground. Finally, the Year 6 classes took part in a ‘Manifesto for Wildlife’ workshop where they wrote their own promises to nature and had the chance to be interviewed on camera!
In May, Years 2 & 3 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 played some fun and active games about climate change and habitat fragmentation. Year 5 got their gardening gloves on and helped to clear a mound of earth alongside the school fields that will soon become a wildflower meadow. Whilst doing this we came across lots of species including moth caterpillars, beetles, woodlice, ladybirds and even a toad!
During Kent Wildlife Trust’s final visit to Horton Kirby, Year R learnt all about ocean pollution by doing some experiments and playing a habitat game. We also had story time, reading The Bison and the Butterfly book! Then, Years 1, 3, and 4 took it in turns to take part in a BioBlitz, where we identified and recorded as many species as possible. This data can be compared to surveys done in future years to monitor how local wildlife is doing.
We are so pleased to see that Horton Kirby C of E Primary School was awarded a Bronze Wilder Kent Award this year on their first year of entry. A fantastic achievement, well done!
Minibeast hunting
Our first visit to Seal C of E began with a tour of the school grounds, including their onsite farm. During action plan workshops, students discussed their priorities for protecting wildlife, reducing carbon, improving sustainability, and engaging with nature. We finished up the day with an assembly about the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project and the Wilder Kent Awards which explained why the project is important and how the children at Seal Primary can help at school!
During this visit Year 6 classes learnt about native birds in the ‘Birds of Kent’ workshop. The students made lots of mess making their own pinecone bird feeders before heading outside to hang them up around the school grounds! Later that day, pupils focused on writing personal manifestos for wildlife and had the opportunity to talk to camera about what promises they’re making to help nature and wildlife.
In May the students learnt all about the topic of eco-anxiety. Year 5 took part in a workshop about how to look after yourself when learning about the climate and biodiversity crises, and we took our learning outdoors for some fun, active games about climate change and habitat fragmentation. We even had time to puzzle over a crossword to create a help sheet to refer to if students feel overwhelmed by environmental issues.
Our final visit to Seal C of E Primary was full of fun! We spent the morning taking part in a Bioblitz, where we identified and recorded as many species as possible within a certain time and place. This data that the students recorded can then be compared to surveys in future years to monitor how local wildlife is doing. After lunch we practiced our DIY skills by making bug hotels using various recycled materials. Hopefully the insects and other creatures at Seal will make the most of their new cosy homes!
We were thrilled to see that Seal C of E Primary achieved a Silver Wilder Kent Award this year which is something to be very proud of! Well done and keep up the good work!
Friendly goat at Seal
Birds of Kent workshop
Forest School Area
Our first visit to Shoreham Village Primary School began with a tour of the school grounds from headteacher Mrs Lovatt-Young where she showed us the garden, pond and Speller’s wood area. Next, the team from Kent Wildlife Trust gave an assembly about the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project and the Wilder Kent Awards which helped everyone to understand why the project is important and how we can all help at school.
Over lunchtime the Eco Team discussed their priorities when thinking about protecting wildlife, reducing carbon, improving sustainability, and engaging with nature. They created a school action plan and decided to prioritise planting native trees and shrubs, having a wildlife friendly garden, and holding a wildlife fundraiser. It was raised that the pond area needed a new fence before it could safely be used, so this was a goal for the year.
During the winter, the Eco Team at Shoreham had made bird feeders to make sure our lovely local birds weren’t going hungry. The students learnt even more about this during the ‘Birds of Kent’ workshop which taught pupils all about the species of bird that call our county home. This was followed by a ‘Manifesto for Wildlife’ workshop with Year 1 where the children thought about what nature means to them and made their own promises to protect wildlife in different ways. They took time to make these into beautiful butterfly spinners for a classroom display.
In May, Year 5 got hands-on with a gardening workshop, clearing some soil and planting some wildflower seeds. We also had fun playing some active games that taught us about habitat fragmentation and climate change. Afterwards, eco-club took part in an eco-anxiety workshop where they learnt how to look after themselves when learning about the climate and biodiversity crises and created a help sheet for if they ever start to feel overwhelmed by environmental issues. To round up the day’s activities, Year R learnt all about ocean pollution and Years 1 and 2 took part in some super seed planting!
On Kent Wildlife Trust’s final visit to Shoreham, the whole school took part in a BioBlitz survey of the school grounds. We identified and recorded as many species as we could throughout the day. We found lots of tree species, butterflies, birds and even a couple of frogs! The data that the pupils collected can be compared against BioBlitz surveys in future years to monitor how local wildlife is doing!
Shoreham Village Primary School achieved a bronze Wilder Kent Award this year on their first year of entering – we are so pleased for you and can’t wait to see how you progress in future years!
Assembly
New outdoor learning shelter being built
New raised beds with pollinator-friendly plants
New fence around the pond
Renewed pond area
Our year working with St. John’s CE Primary began with a lovely tour of the school grounds from Mrs Simpson before the KWT Team gave an assembly about the Darent Valley Landscape Recovery Project and the Wilder Kent Awards. We met the Eco Committee and helped them think about what their priorities were for protecting wildlife, reducing carbon, improving sustainability, and engaging with nature at school. The children then created an action plan for the year ahead which included writing a letter to the Headmistress, designing posters to raise awareness, and doing some fundraising for nature!
The local wildlife was well-fed this winter at St John’s, as the Eco Committee made fantastic pinecone bird feeders to hang up around the school grounds. During this visit the students learnt all about native birds and how to look after them, as well as taking part in a ‘Manifesto for Wildlife’ workshop where they made promises to look after nature and the environment. Two Eco Committee members were very brave and spoke about their concerns for nature on camera, which featured in a Kent Wildlife Trust video.
In March, the children learnt all about eco-anxiety and created their own help sheet to refer to if they ever feel overwhelmed whilst learning about environmental issues. As well as this, we planted some seeds for pollinators to enjoy over the next few months and even built a wormery! Parents had kindly donated the wormery, so the children had lots of fun getting it ready for the clew of worms.
Our final visit for the year saw a day full of exciting surveys as the pupils carried out a BioBlitz, which is where we try to identify and record as many species as possible within a certain time and place. The data that the students recorded can now be compared to BioBlitz data in future years to monitor how local wildlife is doing. St. John’s also did some fantastic fundraising for Kent Wildlife Trust. They made their own bird feeders and held a sale at school to help us fix the Forest School area at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, which was unfortunately vandalised over the summer. The children at St.John’s raised an amazing £75 – thank you!
We were pleased to see that St John’s CE Primary achieved a Bronze Wilder Kent Award this year on their first year of entering. A huge congratulations again to everyone involved for all your hard work!
Bug hotel
Bug hotel with recycled materials
Recycling batteries progress
Water butt at school
Fundraising for Kent Wildlife Trust
“Just a HUGE thank you for all your support this year making what seemed a MASSIVE task manageable. I feel so much more confident being able to continue to make the changes in school to be more environmentally aware and greener in our practises. We've loved Bella coming in and working with the children so thank you.”
“We were delighted to have Bella join us in school on several occasions last year. Her obvious passion for wildlife and nature was infectious and the children always looked forward to seeing her (as did I). Having her work with us was a huge added bonus to being part of the programme.”
“I really enjoyed being a part of this initiative and hope that we can continue to work together to improve nature-connectedness and wellness in our school.”
“We found the experience rewarding and it generated enthusiasm about nature and the environment. It is now our job to keep that energy and care going, as so much competes for attention within school curriculum and life. Much praise to Bella- a super inspirational guide through our wildlife journey last year.”
“I would personally like to thank Bella for delivering amazing workshops throughout the project and for her help and support. The children and staff loved the sessions she delivered, which she did professionally and in a fun way.”
We provide children, young people and adults with a wide range of practical, enjoyable and high-quality learning experiences through our Education programmes that will connect them with nature and help them discover the wild world around us.
For those unable to benefit from a visit to one of our educational centres, Kent Wildlife Trust has developed a range of two-hour outreach opportunities suitable for schools, events and other educational groups, that will bring the wild to you!
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