In Brighton & Hove, School Grounds take up an area of 161ha or 15% of the total open green space in the City - that is six times the size of Preston Park! This therefore has the potential of giving a fantastic educational resource, especially added to the fact that children can spend almost one quarter of their school lives outside in the grounds, and for many this is the only safe open space that they use. Often it will be their only opportunity to connect with nature and learn about the natural world.

Following a Biodiversity Audit of Brighton & Hove’s school sites, it was decided to write a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) as a method of setting targets and agendas to promote biodiversity conservation to schools and to embed it into school life.

A BAP steering group was convened with Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex Wildlife Trust, other environmental professionals and especially educationalists including Heads and other teachers with responsibility for the school grounds.
In March 2006 a Project Officer was appointed to promote the BAP, and at present 12 schools have signed up to the BAP Manifesto, a commitment by the schools to incorporate the conservation of biodiversity into the whole of school life.

Current and upcoming practical projects included:

• building a wildlife trail
  
• constructing an Iron Age Roundhouse
  
• provision of green roofs for schools that just have tarmac playgrounds
  
• planning three orchards planted with Sussex varieties of apples
  

To keep schools up to date with wildlife information, we are also producing:

• a regular termly newsletter about what is happening in other schools, where to go for funding and projects to attempt at school.
  
• Identification posters and habitat interpretation boards are also being produced as is
  
• a teachers' pack on how to write a BAP for your school
  
• a document on Health and Safety especially with reference to the building and maintenance of ponds
  

The projects links to a number of government initiatives including:

• Eco-schools
  
• Healthy schools
  
• Sustainable schools
  
• Learning Outside the classroom
  

So there are a lot of incentives for the schools in Brighton & Hove to get involved with the BAP, not least to help improve the school grounds and to encourage children to take an interest in the world around them.

If your school would like to find out more please contact Martin Pett on 01273 292370 or email here