King's Ely at the RGS Chelsea Flower Show

I was pleased to see that some of my school’s grounds team had worked with one of our suppliers: Barcham Trees to team up for an exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This is exciting news indeed. The school grounds are always well looked after, and form a useful location for on-site fieldwork. 

I am fortunate to have a lovely garden right outside my classroom window.

The story is here.

One connection is a famous tree we have in Ely.

Believed to date back to around 1674 and thought to be one of the original London planes in the UK, the tree stands within the grounds of the Bishop’s Old Palace — now home to King’s Ely Sixth Form Centre. Recognised as one of the UK’s Top 50 Great British Trees, the Ely London Plane has become an important symbol of the area’s heritage.

Since 2013, Barcham Trees and King’s Ely have worked together to propagate saplings from the historic tree, helping to preserve its legacy for future generations. Young trees grown from the Ely Plane can now be found in notable locations including the Sandringham Estate, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Barcham’s upcoming Barn & Garden project.

Find them at stand PW192 if you are going to the event.

Wildflowers for Primary Schools for the King's Coronation

 I've set up a Google Alert for the term 'GCSE Natural History' and it sent me to a recent post from the Department for Education.

They are going to be sending Wildlfower Seeds to Primary Schools around the country.

According to the blog post:

This initiative is inspired by His Majesty the King’s commitment to the environment. Working with the Eden Project’s National Wildflower Centre, over 200,000 seeds packets will be sent to schools.

If planted together, around 40 rugby pitch sized wildflowers meadows would be created. The packets of seeds include native annual wildflower species, like cornflower, corn poppy and corn chamomile.

Planting the seeds will be an opportunity for children to engage with the natural world and learn more about the importance of biodiversity, as well as being a way for them to celebrate a historic national moment.

The Eden Project has produced some educational resources, and guidance on planting the seeds.

There is also a link to the new GCSE in Natural History which I am preparing resources for, and have a dedicated blog.

You can also join over 750 other teachers on our GCSE Natural History Facebook page.

As the post says:

We’re also developing a new Natural History GCSE which will enable young people to explore the world by learning about environmental and sustainability issues, and gain a deeper knowledge of the natural world around them.