Steve Hinton Snr Ranger breifing pupils 

Bee Wild

The Friends of Kings Norton Park, Kings Norton Boys School and city rangers have recently formed a partnership approach to environmental studies in the setting of their local park.  

 

Coleman Doyle, Head of Citizenship at the school agreed this was a great opportunity to provide a framework for the boys to engage positively with people in their local community and understand other ways to enjoy their open spaces.   

So far there have been two different sets of students, age ranges between 11 and 14 years old who have helped out in the Park.  That is, year 10 and year 7 pupils.

Miss and Sir leading the way

     ·       Year 10  pupils heroically litter picked 11 large bags of rubbish from notoriously difficult areas of the park.  They braved extremely wet and windy weather. 

·       Year 7 were luckier with the weather and able to take park in a mass balsam bash along the banks the canal feeder and to carry our first wild flower survey in our new meadow.
  


Joe Styles, a year 7 student explains why the Balsam Bash was held '

‘The Friends group and rangers have been trying to get rid of an invasive weed called ‘Himalayan Balsam’ in Kings Norton Park. On Friday 13 July our students cleared out big sections of this weed which will help other plants grow and the wildlife to return’.  

After the balsam had been eradicated (it was chopped, folded, stamped and crushed with enthusiasm), lunch eaten and the newly installed children’s play area sampled

it was  time to settle into the environmental survey.     

Joe Styles and fellow students arrive at the meadow

The flower meadow is a new an interesting dimension to the park created by a change to the mowing regime in March.  A natural corridor adjacent to the River Rea is being developed.  The soil has already rewarded us with an abundance of different varieties of wild flowers and grasses.   

Pairs of boys lined up along the length of the meadow 8 paces apart and studiously began analysing and filling in the survey cards, discussing their thoughts, agreeing answers and taking photographs.

Joe,  who also took these impressive photographs of some of the wild flowers, informs us

“Our results will be part of a bee study which is taking place all over the country. We looked at many aspects like flower shapes, density and colours, and searched for bees. We found many different types as well as wild grasses, meadow mushrooms and a common carder bee.  In summary, this activity was very beneficial for the school, the friends of Kings Norton Park and for the rangers. We are looking forward to coming back and continuing our work in the near future”.

We found working with the boys a real pleasure. It was super to see them enjoying the natural aspects of our Park.   As we worked we talked of many interesting things, from studies, local history, games, futures to nature.   An all round very healthy and worthwhile experience.  We too look forward to welcoming Kings Norton Boys School back to our Park.

If your nursery, school or group is interested in exploring environmental activities in Kings Norton Park please email at info.foknp@gmail.com