Today is the United Nations International Day for Biological Diversity. This year’s theme is from agreement to action: build back biodiversity which celebrates the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreement signed in December 2022. The agreement sets goals and concrete measures to stop and reverse the loss of nature by 2050.
The United Nations is calling for us to re-examine our relationship to the natural world and be aware that despite all our technological advances, we are completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for our water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter and energy. Just to name a few.
At Prince’s Mead we are privileged to be located in the Itchen Valley which is part of The South Downs National Park; an area of outstanding natural beauty and naturally rich in biodiversity. And as a school, we promote the importance of this diversity to our pupils through our teaching. For example, our pond and outdoor learning spaces provide a rich variety of habitats to encourage biodiversity. Our bug hotel was built by pupils to encourage insects and every year the pupils make energy-rich fat balls for birds, to help them get the calories they need to get through the cold winter days and nights.
We also have lots of budding gardeners coming along to our afterschool Gardening Club and have just replanted our annual wildflower meadow using Comic Relief seed bombs donated by the Prince’s Mead community. We look forward to watching it grow and observing the bees and other pollinators that use it as a food source.
You can find out more about our outdoor learning provision here.