Biodiversity
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity means the variety of life. It includes all plants and animals, their habitats and the factors that link them to each other and their surroundings. It is not restricted to rare and threatened species and habitats but includes the whole of the natural world from the commonplace to the critically endangered.
Why should Biodiversity be protected?
We all have a part to play in safeguarding the Earth’s biodiversity. Therefore action needs to be taken, at both a local and global level, before our biodiversity disappears for good. Increasing biodiversity in our school grounds can make an important contribution to efforts to preserve biodiversity across Corfe and the UK.
The benefits of biodiversity are endless, but include:
Learning about and enjoying the wildlife of Corfe. This makes an important contribution to our quality of life, health and spiritual well being. School grounds provide an excellent site for children to learn about biodiversity.
Plants, animals and habitats enrich our everyday lives as they produce the necessary ingredients for all life to exist.
Without conserving biodiversity, we will pass to our successors a planet that is markedly poorer than the one we were privileged to inherit. Therefore we have a duty and a role of play to ensure that the earth and its environment are protected for generations to come.
Increased biodiversity can raise environmental awareness in local communities. It has also been shown that improving school grounds can influence children’s values and attitudes towards the wider environment.
There are ethical grounds for conservation, as many people believe that every species is of value in its own right.
Here at Corfe we have started to think about how we can improve our biodiversity.
Trees and plants
We have started to plant trees and bulbs to attract a wide range of insects, birds and small mammals that feed on them.
Ladybird Class planting their tree and bulbs for the Queen's Jubilee.
Bird and bat boxes
With the bird and bat populations decreasing, we would like to install bird and bat boxes around the school grounds to help our flying friends live and breed.
Butterfly and bee walk
We know at Corfe that bees and butterflies are very important to the planet and therefore we would like to make the path from the carpark into a butterfly and bee walk by planting plants that butterflies and bees like such as lavender and thyme.
Wildlife Pond
We are also creating a wildlife pond to attract a range of wildlife such as frogs, toads and newts. See here.