Anyone who follows my work will know that one of my many wildlife passions lies with inspiring and engaging children. My work at Michael Drayton Junior gives me lots of scope to work with groups of children, helping them learn about the wildlife on their doorstep and what they can do to help and support it. At this time of year, I always teach the groups about hedgehogs. We have a couple of model hedgehogs; garden ornaments that the kids love! I use these model hedgehogs to help explain about why their numbers are declining and how we can help them.
Some of my Green Teams and my Outdoor Explorers Club went into the Hayes to collect some stick to make the frames of hedgehog hibernation homes. The pupils learnt about how and why hedgehogs hibernate and how we can help them. Using the sticks, the children create a framework of sticks. We then cover this framework with twigs, leaves and dry grass and hay. They absolutely love doing it, especially when we try the model hedgehogs in them!
One Green Team Duo wanted to find out more about hedgehogs so we decided to make a movie all about them that would help the other pupils (and parents) understand about them. Together we decided on what information should go in the movie, but they then decided on the scenes and wither ‘script’ although they were so good at explaining and acting, that we did very little rehearsal!
I am very proud of these boys and their film. Working with children in this way is highly rewarding. Not only have these boys learnt a tremendous amount about hedgehogs, but they have created something that showcases their learning.