The Harmony Project

This year, Epworth schools have been taking part in The Harmony Project. The project works with educators to develop learning based on a deep understanding of, and connection to, the natural world – learning that will equip pupils with the skills they need to live more sustainably.

Our overall aim as a Trust is to use nature as a way to inspire and engage our children with learning about the natural world around them.

Over at Summerseat Methodist Primary School, pupils have been involved with a range of activities including analysing seeds and leaves to see which tree they grew from, creating a butterfly and bee garden with plants to attract these insects and develop their ecosystem and observing the life cycle of a butterfly before releasing them into the developing butterfly sanctuary.

Westleigh Methodist Primary School has been privileged to receive a grant from the Harmony Project as part of their Nature Premium field trial. This grant has funded a richly rewarding outdoor learning project for their Year 4 class linked to their science topic of ‘living things and their habitats’.

The Year 4 pupils collectively decided they wanted to create a habitat for a butterfly as their project. They researched everything about butterflies and the different flowers that attract them. The grant allowed them to purchase these flowers and various materials required for their habitat.

The pupils then set about making their habitat in planters. The pupils de-weeded the soil and added gravel, compost and flowers.

Moving forward, the pupils are now thinking about ways to develop the school’s playground area even further and have even created designs for a picnic area!

Year 4 children from Wesley Methodist Primary School have been working incredibly hard on their project with the Harmony Project. This has involved giving the children a wider perspective of the impact of outdoor learning on their own mental and physical wellbeing whilst improving an element of the school’s outdoor space for nature. The children chose a space on the KS1 playground to improve and worked incredibly hard on researching and designing a space for wildlife. Pupils looked at which plants and flowers would be suitable to encourage different wildlife into the area and have begun constructing this. The school were visited by the Harmony Project who were thoroughly impressed with the children’s knowledge and understanding of the project and how much work they have put into this!

Julie-Ann Hewitt, CEO, said: “This is a fantastic project which helps to make the most of the outdoor learning all our schools do so well. It’s wonderful to see how engaged the children are, and how this sets them up so well for a future where sustainable living and consideration for the environment are the norm, not the exception.”

Pupils from Hey With Zion have also enjoyed taking part in the Harmony Project. Children have been developing the environment with plants and shrubs to encourage their mining bees to thrive. The Forest School has explored how they too can make a difference!