Nature Park on Newsround

This month, BBC Newsround visited one of the schools taking part in the National Education Nature Park to see what it's all about!

Presenter Shanequa Paris went along to St Philip’s School in Manchester to see pupils exploring their site through the Hidden Nature Challenge. She interviewed pupils on camera who spoke about how much they loved exploring their playground and the nature discoveries they had made, including finding plants and animals they didn’t know were living and growing there.

Pupils demonstrated the digital skills that they’re developing through the Nature Park and uploaded their findings to the Hidden Nature Challenge map. The map gives a taste of what the Nature Park programme is all about - as settings move through the programme, mapping, monitoring and enhancing their sites for nature, the data they collect will be added to an online map, visualising the collective difference children and young people are making for nature across England. Every action, no matter how small, helps to improve biodiversity across the education estate.  

Shanequa also caught up with Dr Jade Gunnell, Community Science Officer at the Natural History Museum, who spoke about England being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and how this motivated the creation of the National Education Nature Park, and how every school, college or nursery in England can take part no matter what their learning site looks like.