Wildflower seeds for every primary school class in honour of coronation
by Educate Magazine May 4, 2023 · All News / Primary School News
To mark the Coronation of King Charles III on 6 May, all state funded primary schools will be sent wildflower seeds that will empower children across the country to discover the joys of nature.
The government-funded project was inspired by His Majesty The King’s love of nature and aims to encourage children to learn about and improve the biodiversity of school’s green spaces, while making them nicer places to work and learn.
Improving children’s connection to nature and spending time outdoors will also help to support their mental and physical wellbeing.
In a collaboration between the Department for Education and the Eden Project, over 200,000 seeds packets will be sent to schools, representing 40 hectares of new wildflower areas being planted up across England to support our pollinators.
If planted together that would create around 40 rugby pitch sized wildflowers meadows – a small but vital step in boosting biodiversity.
Schools and other education providers can continue to improve biodiversity in the months and years to come through the National Education Nature Park – which brings together schools, colleges and other education settings into a vast virtual park.
It enables children and young people to get involved in taking practical action to improve the biodiversity of their green spaces, then mapping it online to see over time how the virtual park changes. The National Education Nature Park and Climate Action Award are open for registration from 18 May 2023.
Schools minister Nick Gibb said: “Giving children the opportunity to plant wildflowers will not only make school grounds more attractive, it will also help the next generation understand the importance of improving our biodiversity, while celebrating His Majesty The King’s love of nature.”
Dan James, Development Director for the Eden Project said: “It is crucial that we replenish our biodiversity across the UK – and even small steps can make a difference.
“Through the work of National Wildflower Centre, Eden Project works with organisations across the UK with projects to make new wildflower habitats that support wildlife and connect people to the natural world.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the next generation to see the impact that wildflowers can have, even in small spaces.
“By encouraging our children to plant wildflower seeds we can work towards reversing the decline of pollinators that we are seeing across the UK which is so important for our future.”
The packets of seeds include native annual wildflower species; cornflower, corn poppy, corn chamomile, corncockle, corn marigold and night-flowering catchfly, which if sown this spring, will be in bloom this summer.
The wildflowers will provide food for a wide range of insects including bees, butterflies and other pollinators in school grounds across England.
Each seed packet covers around 2square metres of blue, white, purple, red and yellow flowers that can be planted in pots, beds or borders to boost colour and biodiversity in school grounds across England.
