School outreach visits

We have a selection of fantastically engaging, age-appropriate, curriculum-linked sessions, all contributing towards RSPB’s Wild Challenge Award, Eco-Schools Programme and John Muir Awards. Our trained educators bring resources and specialist equipment, adding value to the workshops. 

Sessions for primary years:

• Bioblitz (KS1/KS2/P2-P7)

Tell us your curriculum focus (eg plants, invertebrates, birds) and we’ll help your pupils to investigate their school grounds, enabling them to independently identify species adapted to their local environment.  This session supports understanding and enquiry of food chains, classification and biodiversity.

• Habitat Explorer (KS1/KS2/EY-P7)

Working scientifically, your pupils will map and score your school grounds for nature – identifying habitats that already exist and using the data to effectively contribute to a biodiversity action plan.

• Wild Words (KS1/KS2)

Exploring your school grounds using all their senses, your pupils will collect natural objects and expand their vocabulary around your chosen language focus, forming, articulating, communicating and organising ideas as a stimulus for creative and effective writing.

• Biodiversity Action Plan (follow-on session in Scotland only – P5-P7)

Pupils use what they discovered from their survey to begin developing a plan for improving a local green space, either to increase biodiversity or support a particular species, or for creating a campaign to encourage their community to take action for nature.

Sessions for early years:

• Minibeast Safari (inc. Scotland P1)

Using simple detective equipment your pupils will hunt for minibeasts, independently asking questions to find out where they might be hiding and embedding awe and wonder into everyday curiosity of the world around them.

• Sensing the World (inc. Scotland P1)

Taking time to encourage child-led looking, listening, touching and smelling, your pupils will explore your school grounds, noting what they share their play with every day. They’ll discover a variety of colour and texture and share their preferences as they describe their smelly creations!

• Wild Words (not Scotland)

Travelling around your outdoor space thinking about the journey of an animal, your pupils will collect natural discoveries and develop language and vocabulary that will become prompts for sequencing a story to retell the experience.

Sessions are free to all primary schools, nurseries and early years settings in participating cities. We can offer free sessions in Cardiff until 2022 thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund as part of our Giving Nature a Home in Cardiff Project, delivered in partnership with Buglife Cymru and Cardiff Council.

“Really got children thinking about interesting adjectives and using their senses. Excellent motivation/stimulus for writing”

Wild Words P1 Class, Edinburgh

“Good links with the foundation phase curriculum - great vocabulary for EAL learners”   

Sensing the World Nursery Class, Cardiff

“Children were really engaged and motivated with tools to look for creatures themselves. They had the freedom to explore surroundings taking ownership of the task”

Bioblitz P6 Class, Belfast

“Great vocabulary used about science topic. Good questioning to children, allowing them to think about their answers”

Habitat Explorer Yr3 Class, Manchester