Transforming A School: Nature for Children

by Jason West in Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom

Transforming A School: Nature for Children
We did it
On 22nd December 2023 we successfully raised £5,272 ( + est. £380.25 Gift Aid ) with 47 supporters in 42 days

We are fundraising to forever transform a school and help it become 'carbon negative & wildlife positive'

by Jason West in Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom

We need your help to raise funds for a groundbreaking project which aims to forever change the look and feel of a school and deeply connect children to nature. All aspects of the project will be linked to curricula and fully resourced for children - but more than that, we aim for this project to serve as a catalyst to inspire a revolution to help schools become more wondrous and inspiring places. 

Imagine our schools with wildflower meadows, wildlife ponds, full-scale working kitchen gardens, living walls, green roofs, wind turbines, solar energy generation, butterfly-banks, camera-connected bird and bat boxes, nature inspired art and much, much more - all integrated into curricula with teacher resources.... we believe this is how all our schools should be, with our children immersed in the emotional and scientific majesty of nature. 

The school sits in an area that is one of the most deprived wards in England scoring in the top-ten on the Multiple Social Deprivation Index. Children in this ward can expect to live almost ten fewer years than children in wealthier surrounding wards. What's more the area is one of the worst affected in England for teacher shortages. 

1699485284_1699485333558.png£1000 helps create four large wildflower meadows, increasing biodiversity and helping children to see more nature in their school grounds.

1699485348_1699485397718.png£2000 helps create a new woodland and butterfly banks, which take in carbon and increase biodiversity.

1699485449_1699485498142.png£4000 helps install 20 wifi camera bird and bat boxes across the school so children can watch real-time nesting on their phones.

1699485491_1699485540230.png£10000 helps create two large wildlife ponds, dramatically increasing biodiversity and ecological interconnections. 

1699485564_1699485612991.png£15000 helps build two green roof bike shelters, creating easier pathways for staff and students to cycle to school as well as new habitats on what would otherwise be concrete. 

1699485719_1699485768272.png£20000 helps create a full-scale working kitchen garden, with raised-beds and two large poly-tunnels - dramatically improving the children's diets and understanding of food growing as well as inspiring a greater sense of environmental stewardship.

1699486471_1699486520365.png£22000 helps create a large living wall changing the look and aesthetic of the school, creating habitats and helping children and staff to better connect and a feel part of nature - not separate from it.

1699485857_1699485906523.png£92000 helps build a 15KWh wind turbine, supplying the school with green electricity. This will also allow the establishment of a groundbreaking school-managed and student-led'Green Fund' - where the energy savings (circa £20k per annum) are used to forever support and improve the green credentials of the school - long after the project has finished. 

The Educational Wealth Fund is a registered charity in England and Wales and our Vision for Change has attracted wide support from Nobel Laureates, authors, artists, musicians and former presidents of the Royal Society - now is the time for delivery and we need your help to make this happen!

“The natural dramas seen on TV are certainly entertaining, but they are no substitute for direct, sensory encounters. Inspiring and emotionally rewarding experiences must be at the heart of our education system. I’m pleased to support the Educational Wealth Fund which aims to forever make this a reality.” Chris Packham OBE

100% of your donation will go towards the purchase of equipment and capital works.

Thank you for reading our page and we hope to receiving your support - if you do decide to donate please do leave us a message - they are lovely to read!

Every good wish,

Jason West FRSA

CEO Educational Wealth Fund

 

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation.

£100 or more

1 of 1 claimed

Chris Packham signed bird box!

A donation of £100 will come with a one-off Chris Packham signed bird box- a wonderful Christmas present if ever there was one!


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