The Blog @ Shropshire Wildlife Trust

We’ve encouraged birds and bugs so this week it was the turn of bats!

It was a noisy session with lots of banging but we eventually produced two wonderful bat boxes.

We decided to position them in the school grounds so one of them faces south and the other faces north, to encourage bats to use them all year round.

Bat boxes are easy to make but once they are in place you should not open them. To inspect a bat box you need a special licence so if you suspect a bat is using them contact your local wildlife trust. You can still watch to see if any come out at dusk though!!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be showcasing some of the great work by pupils at Minsterley Primary School as they explore their wildlife area. The site is right next to the school, contains lots of old trees and plenty of undergrowth to explore.

Week One was all about looking and listening. Members of the group were given cameras to record wildlife and were asked to think about what they wanted in their new area. In the sidebar on the right are some photos taken by pupils. Let us know what you think!

We then had chance to make a bird box – we managed to make 2 boxes and they have now been put up in trees around the school grounds.

Next week: hedgerow tree planting and creating a wildflower bed!

Inspired by the Breathing Places campaign and SWT, pupils at Minsterley Primary School are kicking off the spring term with a new “Eco Club”.

This club will be meeting once a week to explore and care for their school grounds as well as make regular entries into a wildlife diary.  They will be sharing their experiences with us and we will be posting regular updates on the blog. 

We’ve just released a podcast of the recent “Monsters” event at Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

Click here for the audio file

Thanks again for everyone’s support and we hope you enjoy listening to these young people tell you about this very successful day.

There are more “Monsters” events planned later this year, and again, we welcome teachers and youth group leaders along with an interest in learning more about the natural world.

We’ve just finished a brand new project in partnership with the Shropshire Hills AONB (Blue Remembered Hills), it’s called “Where Wild Schools Go” and is a guide for teachers, giving the best information on local nature reserves, green spaces and wildlife in South Shropshire.

It’s been compiled by teachers, parents and wildlife experts, all with one aim in mind, getting young people out exploring our local countryside.

It will be sent out to schools on CD to save resources, and will be updated regularly with new sites, species and activities.