In and around Bristol, the Cathedral Schools Trust (CST) operates a few primary and secondary schools. The Cathedral Primary School and Bristol Cathedral Choir School are the ones who have the opportunity to use their playing fields in Failand most. Through the West of England Combined Authority’s Community Pollinator Fund (and a bit more), The Cathedral Schools Trust has been able to develop a large wildflower meadow in an unused portion of the playing fields.
Jon Withers, the Forest School lead promoted the project through his Forest School sessions with the primary school. Later support followed from the secondary school. The Wildflower Meadows that Nature Connection CIC has installed through the West of England Combined Authority funding were budgeted to include enough wildflower seed for 50 square metres – at the CST site we pegged out an area that seemed to fit the opportunities of the playing field and it came to 650 square metres! So we are very grateful to BCCS’ Student Lead for Sustainability for organising a bake sale and the PTA for topping up the funds until we had enough to buy seed for this vast area.
See the news from the site (newest at the top):
-
Wildflowers Bloom at Cathedral Schools Trust
We have taken a mid-summer peek at the developing wildflower meadow on the playing fields of the Cathedral Schools Trust. The seedlings that we saw in June have developed in to a beautiful carpet of varied plants and flowers. There are still patches with thinner covering, so perhaps the site will benefit from an autumn over sowing. Even now though, the site is literally buzzing with insect life!
-
Seedlings Develop at Cathedral School Site
With primary aged Forest School school children and a small group of year sevens from the secondary school having completed the sowing of 4kg wildflower seed, we waited to see how the weather would help germination and the development of the plants. The first fortnight provided a perfect mix of warm sunshine and soaking rain – ideal. Then followed some better British summer. Would the young seedlings survive and thrive, or be wiped out by drown like conditions? We have had a look and are encouraged by their resilience. The seedlings are established, if a little patchy.
-
Meadow ready for sowing at Cathedral Schools Trust Playing Fields
Over the last few weeks, Nature Connection CIC staff, alongside an energetic group of year 7s, have prepared the ground for a massive 650 square metre Wildflower Meadow and Outdoor Wellbeing/Learning Space at the Failand playing fields of the Cathedral Schools Trust. Jon Withers, the Forest School Leader for the trust, had promoted the transformation of the less useful end of the field in to a long grass area – so beneficial for biodiversity and providing habitat that reverses the decline of important insects and bird species. Through his connections at Cathedral Primary School, Jon and Nature Connection made a…
