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Our Finding Futures Primary School Programme saw students from Miers Court out on their "Play Your Part" day at Riverside Country Park. We organise this day for pupils to support their character development by giving something back to the local community.
As you can see we had a perfect autumnal day for exploring the park and supporting the conservation of endangered species.
We were greeted by Richard and Mark, 2 patient and experienced Park Rangers who had organsied an informative and hands-on day for our students. Get ready for some learning!
The children were tasked with building 'hotels' for the very rare and endangered stag beetle. The group was split into 3 teams and each member was given their own tool to help with the job. The task involved digging a 60x60cm hole, which was 15cm deep. The children took it in turns to use the fork, shovel and spade to dig and clear the hole. The ground was very tough in places, with big rocks and tree roots to contend, not to mention the tonnes of worms and other creepy crawlies!
After the holes were dug, and a quick refreshment break, the children used cut up logs to make their hotels. The logs were place vertically into the holes in a design of their choice and then the soil was placed back around the logs to keep them in place.
During the activity the children managed to get covered in mud and have lots of fun. Richard and Mark also helped the children to identify some of the local wildlife including an orbweb spider, a centipede and a solitary mining bee. Richard and Mark's 'Student of the Morning' award went to "the Human Drill", Abbie, for her enthusiastic approach to digging! Well done Abbie.
After lunch the children were treated to a walk around England's largest salt water marsh along the Saxon Shore by Richard. Along the way he explained the history of the area and identified points of interest and more of the area's wildlife including Brent geese, redshanks and long tail tits.
The day had such a positive impact on the growth of students confidence by achieving their goals set out for the day. We measure impact using the Talent Toolbox which allows students to set goals and record examples of when they demonstrate key talent areas.
After a long and action packed day the children still had energy to spend the last 15 minutes enjoying the adventure playground before taxis picked them up and took them back to school. A good day was had by all!
Thank you to Park Rangers Richard and Mark, and to Riverside Country Park for supporting our students with their personal and character development.
Natasha - Yes Futures Coach
To find out more about how your students could get involved with the Yes Futures Programmes, please contact Sophie, Impact Manager: sophie@yesfutures.org, 07908 687779 or visit our website.
If you're interested in becoming a Play Your Part partner, please contact Helena, Head of Programmes: helena@yesfutures.org.
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