The concept of “rewilding” has divided gardeners everywhere: some are devoted to a laissez-faire attitude to weeding while others remain wedded to their lawnmowers and elegantly trimmed box hedges.
But as concerns around climate change and ecological breakdown become a major cause of anxiety and powerlessness – especially to young people – school owners and operators surely have an obligation to review their own attitudes to the issue.
Britain is one of the most depleted countries in terms of biodiversity loss – 29th worst from the bottom out of 218 nations – something that schools, pupils and staff can play a role in reversing.
“Rewilding can turn a somewhat sterile environment into one with a balanced ecology.”
It is this thinking that led to the formation of Operation Future Hope in 2018. Its aim is to educate young people in schools about environmental challenges and galvanise them to help regenerate the natural world – beginning with their schools.
Operation Future Hope offers schools the chance to become members of a national rewilding and ecological education programme that enables their students to become practically involved.
This is achieved through a year-long nature and rewilding apprenticeship course that centres on rewilding projects within their school grounds.
Several schools involved have set up their own student groups taking responsibility for many of the practical aspects of rewilding and helped recruit other students and teachers to the cause.
By connecting rewilding schools with other schools and the wider community of landowners and conservationists, it has been possible to share ideas and to create a network of habitats and corridors for wildlife.
The benefits for schools are many – for instance, eliminating poisonous sprays from the school grounds by developing new wild flower reserves on banks, waste ground and around hedgerows and trees, can significantly reduce costs of ground maintenance.
“It can be a salve in a busy and troubled world.”
Further, rewilding can also improve the appearance of schools, turning a somewhat sterile environment into one with a balanced ecology.
Rewilding can also bring back wildlife and new species into freshly created habitats – birds, butterflies and insects – while also opening the eyes and ears of students to the species that share their community. It can be a salve in a busy and troubled world and the benefits of engaging with the natural world on mental health are well-documented.
Finally, it can also change mindsets and shape attitudes amongst students, staff and parents about the world they inhabit.
“Rewilding can change mindsets and shape attitudes amongst students, staff and parents.”
The foundation schools that have taken part in the rewilding of school grounds and the environmental education programme, Sherborne School, Sherborne Girls and the Gryphon School, have all benefitted hugely from their involvement and have become enthusiastic and well-informed student pioneers.
Some of the transformations they have made to their school grounds can be seen here. It is a programme that I would urge other schools to consider both for their own grounds, but even more so for their students.
At this moment, Operation Future Hope is engaged in a crowdfunding venture to take their programme nationwide.