Children at St John’s Primary School in Upper Holloway, Islington have been learning how to attract more sparrows to their ecology garden by making predator-proof bird boxes.
The children worked closely with two experts from the Council's Ecology Centre to produce six bird boxes for the garden. The boxes have been placed on an wall adjoining the garden in a prime location to attract house sparrows (passer domesticus) who like to live in colonies.
Councillor Bridget Fox, Executive Member for Sustainability, said: ‘The work is part of the A1 Schools Environmental Project which has given funding to nine primary schools along the A1 to develop their own environmental or social projects to encourage them to respect their school and wider environment. It’s also part of Islington’s overall plan to transform the area in and around the A1 making it cleaner, greener and safer.’
Sue Andrews, acting Deputy Head at St John’s said: “The funding has really helped to kick start the improvements and will open up the area to make it safe for students and a valuable learning environment - further extending the classroom from the inside to the outside.”
As well as building the birdboxes the students will also actively help out by planting a wildflower meadow to attract more flora and fauna to their school. The trees in the garden will also be thinned and the existing pond will be brought back to life dramatically improving the existing garden into a haven for birds, woodland plants and stag beetles.
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Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008