Power to the Pond!

The JSV campus is incredibly lucky to have beautiful grounds which include amazing educational areas, such as Forest School and the Quiet Garden, where the children learn about the importance of living harmoniously with nature, and begin to understand solutions to the pressing ecological changes we are facing.

The Wildlife Pond Redevelopment Project has been running at JSV since 2021, when EYFS TA Hannah Loftus submitted a proposal to the Family Association to fund a special project to mark the amalgamation of the Junior schools. As Pond Redevelopment Lead, Hannah gathered a dedicated team of passionate volunteers from across the BSN community, who have successfully changed what was a forgotten and unused area, into an inspiring and educational working space - an entire eco system in our school grounds.

Thanks to the amazing efforts of this team, mud and overgrown marginal plants were cleared to reveal the old pond liner, and a pond that was originally much bigger than anyone had realised! An old, oversized bridge was repurposed into a viewing platform and bird hide, the liner was replaced, and an internal ‘safety shelf’ and board walk were installed around the 40m pond perimeter, making it safe for the children to get up close to an amazing eco system with a huge variety of life.

The Pond area is many students’ favourite spot to visit during their weekly forest school sessions. Observing how water sustains the life of numerous species and how it attracts wildlife throughout the year captivates their curiosity and fuels imagination. “Have the tadpoles grown their legs yet?”, “Have you seen the water scorpion?”, “How do plants clean water?” are just a few examples of how nature friendly landscapes nurture students’ affinity for spending time outdoors and care for the environment.

- Marta Nowak, Forest School lead

It has been wonderful to see the level of interest and support generated by the Pond Redevelopment Project across the BSN community -- The Project is instilling an incredible sense of pride and achievement in our students, and has been a perfect example of sustainable goals that can be achieved with collaboration and dedication.

The installation of the hybrid power source will be a visual reminder to the children of the ‘Green Mindset’ that we champion at JSV, and will give us, as educators, another platform to expand eco literacy across the school. equipping our students with the knowledge, skills and values they will need to begin to address the global challenges we are facing.

- Hannah Loftus, TA & Pond Development lead

Additional educational areas were also developed in the corners of the plot:

The ‘Education Zone’ - an area for direct teaching, with an information board regularly updated with the species that have been found in the area, and a tank for a different view on pond life;

‘Bug Corner’ - an area focused on habitats with a sedum-topped mound, created by the children from logs and repurposed tubes, to provide habitats for insects, amphibians and small mammals, and a bug hotel constructed with repurposed garden trellis; and

‘The Digging Corner’ - a popular area for our younger, KS1 & 2 children where their fine and gross motor skills are challenged, and social interactions and role play are developed.

In 2022, the ‘Pond Redevelopment Project’ was the subject of a sustainability-themed film made by our students, which won first place in the COBIS Eco Film Awards KS1&2.

Work on the newest addition to the area is currently underway:

‘The Sensory Zone’ – a calm, and sensory awakening environment, beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety, improving focus, helping children with their emotions and feelings and promoting sensory development.

Student Leaders - the Eco Warriors and Student Counsellors - have been working hard raising funds for their exciting ‘Power to the Pond’ initiative, that will see the installation of a hybrid sustainable power source at the pond. The dual energy source - a wind turbine and solar panel combination - will be mounted on a tall post within the immediate area, and will circulate water down a series of mini waterfalls, creating an important new soundscape within the Sensory Zone and increasing the oxygenation and overall health of the pond and its inhabitants.

To realise this vision, the students planned and organised sustainable fundraising initiatives and events, such as secondhand books and games sales, an ‘Eco DressUp Day’, where children were asked to wear “Green, brown or blue, but nothing new!” and ‘Sustainability Bingo!’, which encouraged a green mindset beyond the classroom, focusing on our sustainability practice at home.

Recently, the students of JSV also won first place for a whole-school ‘sustainability art’ competition run by the European Patent Office (EPO), with the prize money going directly to the ‘Power to the Pond’ fund. ■