PUPILS have been studying the region’s oldest wildlife habitats.
As part of a Cheshire Wildlife Trust scheme, children from Tilston Primary School, Malpas, visited wildlife sites across Cheshire and Shropshire to discover what plants and creatures live in the region’s meres and moss.
The pupils were able to get a hands-on understanding of the millennia-old habitats which have shaped the landscape and wildlife, as part of a £2 million region-wide educational scheme.
As part of the Meres and Mosses Landscape Partnership scheme, which was launched in November 2012, education teams from Cheshire and Shropshire Wildlife Trusts joined forces to produce a bespoke, in-depth, learning experience for schools focused on the wildlife of these particular landscapes.
Class teacher Rachel Corlett said: “The Meres and Mosses project was a wonderful outdoor learning experience, it’s so important for the children to learn about the special wild spaces close to where they live.
“We hope they will go back to explore these sites with their parents again and again. We may have inspired a lifelong love of the outdoors and the meres and mosses.”
Two separate visits to Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s Bickley Hall Farm, near Malpas, saw the children meet the Trust’s traditional Longhorn cattle, which graze fields around the ancient Bar Mere wetland, and also plant 180 trees to create a native hedgerow.
The trips culminated in a showcase for parents last week when the children presented their experiences in range of quirky shows from Wallace and Gromit-style plasticine animations, poems, artwork, slideshows, interactive quizzes and demonstrations, with the children also receiving certificates to reward their work.
Dan Spry, whose daughter Nya took part in the sessions, said: “She came home so excited after each session, telling us all about the places they had been and all of the wildlife they saw and learned about.
“It’s great to come and see the children’s presentations and find out more about the wider project.”