‍Wildlife watch: Wilding Schools survey update

Wildlife surveying is vital for establishing a baseline of our ecosystems and measuring which species are on school grounds. Over the past few months, our schools have been progressing to this next step in our Wilding Schools project, part of our Green Schools Revolution programme.

Students have been conducting baseline surveys in their schools to provide a documented snapshot of the existing biodiversity before any major changes are made. It's brilliant to see so many of our schools taking part, with more surveys to come next year as we get into spring!

Here’s what some of them have been up to:

The iNaturalist app is our main recommended survey app we ask our schools to use, as it's a really great tool for identifying any species that can be photographed within the grounds. Schools have been creating their own accounts, and utilising the sister app ‘Seek’, which is designed for younger audiences and can function offline, to identify a wide range of plants and animals. Once records are uploaded, they can then be added to iNaturalist. Schools can also earn badges for observing different types of species and participating in challenges.

Schools including St Mary’s in Newcastle, The King Alfred in Highbridge,and Tongwynlais Primary School have been conducting mammal surveys, using a mixture of camera traps and the construction of mammal footprint tracking tunnels to pick up mammal footprints. The tunnels should be left out for 5 consecutive nights, with daily top ups of fresh bait food and ink, and results are then recorded daily by the pupils and their teachers.

It was great to see so several of our schools identifying the presence of hedgehogs in their grounds using these techniques! Hedgehogs are a declining species, and have been listed on the UK Red List as vulnerable to extinction in Great Britain since 2020, so are a species we hope to see more of across our participating Wilding Schools. St Mary's in Newcastle also identified a fox and a squirrel in one of their camera traps, and the students have enjoyed the excitement of seeing what's been caught on camera! In addition to these methods, students have also been recommended other surveying apps, including the Mammal Mapper app, which is specifically for recording and identifying mammal sightings and footprints.  

Alongside doing the mammal tunnel surveys, St Mary's School in Newcastle have been ordering binoculars and guide books over summer, with plans to get the students out looking for birds in the coming months, while King Alfred's also ordered a reptile sheet for their grounds.

In schools that are planning to install ponds through their Wilding plans, we hope to see lots of new species being found on their grounds in future. Pond surveys are a great way for students to learn more about the importance of freshwater biodiversity and the life that is supported by adding this habitat. The King Alfred School, which has a very small existing pond in it's grounds already, did a baseline pond survey with support from the Somerset Wildlife Trust. Students were taught techniques such as netting, which is recommended for surveying species of amphibians such as frogs and toads, as well as noting the conditions affecting species such as temperature and weather.        

Shae Clements, a science teacher at The King Alfred School, said “We have had the chance to put out camera traps, hedgehog houses, hedgehog tunnels,and more. It has also been a chance to utilise sampling techniques that link to the GCSE science curriculum. This sampling has undoubtedly been what the students have enjoyed so far. They have a greater appreciation for the wildlife they can find just within our school grounds and understand the delicate interactions that underlay a healthy functioning ecosystem.”

Each school's Wilding plan aims to increase learning opportunities and embed Wilding Schools' activities into the curriculum, ensuring that students and teachers develop skills across a wide range of subjects such as Science,Maths, English, and Geography. Some schools' will be focusing their Wilding plans on improving the grounds for insects, with a focus on pollinator-friendly plants.

In primary schools, bug hunts are a fun way for students to learn first-hand how important insects are for the functioning of ecosystems and the pollination process, as well as raising awareness of how many small insects live in unexpected places. Some of the bugs identified by our Wilding group at Eveswell Primary School include spiders, snails, slugs, and bees.

At secondary schools that focusing on improving their grounds for insects, we have suggested students have a go at doing Flower-Insect Timed Counts (or FIT counts). This involves counting the number of insects on one patch of flowers within 10 minutes, on dry, sunnier days between April to September.  Schools can submit their records, which then contributes to a national database! The Hele’s school have successfully uploaded several of their records of their buttercup FIT counts to the online Pollinator Monitoring Scheme portal.

We’re thrilled to see so many schools using wildlife surveys to build a baseline which will inform the school's wilding actions now and in the future. We also hope more schools will be inspired to try some of these fun and engaging wildlife survey methods, which promote highly transferable skills to students and help them gain a new appreciation for the nature found on their doorstep.

We can't wait to see what biodiversity they will continue to find as the Wilding Schools project develops!

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The work of Green Schools Revolution: Wilding Schools is made possible by the generosity of the #iwill Fund, a joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) which supports young people to access high-quality social action opportunities.