Joining the Nature Park email template

Dear <insert name here>,  

I am looking to join/I have joined the National Education Nature Park, a programme to boost nature in education, by registering at www.educationnaturepark.org.uk. Across England, schools, nurseries and colleges are coming together to empower children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and to nature’s future.  

What is the National Education Nature Park?

The National Education Nature Park is a free new programme that will see young people in all schools, nurseries and colleges boosting biodiversity on their learning sites, while developing connection to nature and important green skills for their futures. They’ll use digital tools to map their sites, monitor what is living and growing there and use this information to make decisions on how they can enhance their sites for nature, from building rain gardens to creating pollinator-friendly environments. They’ll record the change they are making, and this data will be added to an online map, visualising the collective difference that schools across England are making for nature over time. With England’s primary and secondary schools equating to roughly twice the size of Birmingham, the programme has the potential to make a big impact on nature recovery across the country. The flexible programme has been developed by a partnership led by the Natural History Museum with the Royal Horticultural Society, Royal Society and other partners, commissioned by the Department for Education.

Why should we join the National Education Nature Park?  

• Supports curriculum delivery - the programme provides curriculum-linked resources, based on the best evidence for successful climate pedagogy, that can be used flexibly across a range of subject areas.
• Upskills and builds confidence - activities for young people will equip learners with green and digital skills that they may use in future careers and educators will build confidence in delivering climate and nature content.
• Supports Climate Action Plans - by 2025, all education settings will have nominated a sustainability lead and put in place a Climate Action Plan. The programme will help develop an approach to nature on site that can satisfy the biodiversity elements of Climate Action Plans
• Climate Action Awards - these awards are part of the National Education Nature Park programme and recognise schools and colleges who have brought about change at an institutional level, supporting their students in developing green skills, championing nature and working towards a sustainable future. This includes recognition of the excellent work already underway in many education settings through existing awards and schemes, that can be built upon over time.
• Improves wellbeing - access to green space and outdoor learning has been shown to have overwhelmingly positive impacts on the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. The programme aims to help build agency among learners so learners can respond positively and tangibly to the planetary emergency.   
• Accelerates nature recovery - every small improvement made on a learning site contributes to nature recovery and climate resilience across the country when combined across the vast size of the National Education Nature Park.
• Contributes to scientific research - school grounds are the most under-recorded urban habitat type in England, meaning we know less about what lives and grows there than in other types of habitat in England. Through mapping, monitoring and enhancing their learning sites, children and young people will be taking part in real scientific research on biodiversity and be part of a research team with the Natural History Museum, studying the best ways to support nature recovery across England.
• Local community - the programme enables nurseries, schools and colleges to lead the way for their local area and showcase their efforts to protect and enhance local biodiversity.
• Flexibility - the programme is flexible and can be conducted in many ways such as through school council, as a themed week or embedded across the curriculum. The programme is designed to be comprehensive rather than adding to teacher workloads.

How can different members of staff help us?  

• Teachers can use the free resources to support curriculum delivery and use the activities to develop confidence in building green and digital skills and delivering climate and nature content.
• Headteachers can support the National Education Nature Park by providing teachers with the time to get involved, permission to make changes to outdoor space and helping to support pupils and students to make these changes.
• Caretakers and maintenance staff can help make changes to grounds and help look after the site once changes have been made.
• School council leads can use the National Education Nature Park to improve pupil and student voice and give learners the power to make decisions about their site.
• Eco-club leads can use the free resources to deliver sessions and help channel climate anxiety into agency.
• Careers leads can use the National Education Nature Park to develop green skills and digital skills of learners and show them the huge range of careers that support the environment.    
• Outdoor leads can use the activities to help get more young people outside into nature and help them develop a meaningful connection to nature.
• Sustainability leads can use the National Education Nature Park to develop an approach to nature that satisfies the biodiversity elements of Climate Action Plans.  
• Wellbeing leads can use the National Education Nature Park to help improve the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of children and young people and help them to build agency, helping to tackle eco-anxiety.  
• Science leads can take part in real scientific research on biodiversity and help children and young people see the possibilities of science.

Let's sign <insert school/nursery/college name> up for the National Education Nature Park and play our part in boosting biodiversity in England to develop the skills, agency and nature connectedness needed for children, young people and nature to thrive.