Chelmsford school children help nature to thrive this winter

Across the Chelmsford district, pupils have traded classroom desks for green spaces, taking part in hands-on planting projects that help support local wildlife. 

Planting to help support pollinators  

In Galleywood, pupils from St Michael’s Junior School helped plant 1,000 crocus bulbs in the area by Galleywood Library and shops. Wearing warm coats and brightly coloured gardening gloves, the children used simple tools to create small holes in the ground to drop the bulbs into. Flowering in the late winter and early spring months, crocuses offer a welcome splash of colour and are a great source of nectar and pollen for early pollinators like bees and butterflies.  

Pupils from St Cedd’s School and Thriftwood College also took time out from the classroom to learn about nature in their neighbourhood. Meeting park rangers in Oaklands Park, the children enjoyed a hands-on lesson planting bulbs on the lawn in front of the Museum of Chelmsford and learning more about the important role pollinators play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. 

Children enjoying planting bulbs in Galleywood and Oaklands Park

Creating a wildflower meadow 

This year, work has continued to turn a piece of land at Saltcoats Park in South Woodham Ferrers into a community orchard. With the aim of creating a vibrant new wildlife habitat, volunteers including children from Trinity St Mary’s Junior School have spent time in the orchard to help create an ornamental and native species rich wildflower meadow. 

Wildflower meadows are important habitats for insects, small mammals, and birds. They also provide pollen-rich feeding grounds for pollinators like honeybees who transfer pollen from flower to flower, helping to ensure a bumper apple harvest.  

Visiting the orchard as part of an organised Love Your Chelmsford school workshop, the pupils enjoyed planting wildflower plugs and scattering wildflower seed mix containing a colourful mix of native wildflowers including Lobularia maritima (sweet alyssum), Centaurea cyanus (cornflower), Malcolmia maritima (virgina stocks), Trifolium pratense (wild red clover), and Fragaria vesca (wild strawberry). 

The children will be able to return next year to see the results of their hard work and help record the plants and wildlife they spot in the orchard. 

Pupils planted wildflower plugs to help create a colourful and nature-rich meadow

“

"How wonderful to see pupils swap pencils for dibbers and dig into nature! A huge Thank You to all the schools who've helped give nature space to thrive, and to our Parks and Love Your Chelmsford teams for their guidance and care. These little bulbs and wildflower plugs will soon bloom, buzzing with early pollinators and bringing joy to us all. Outdoor learning is fun! Muddy, magical and meaningful - planting big ideas in young minds and embedding a life-long sense of stewardship and care for the planet we share. We’d love more schools to join us next season, so please get in touch and help us grow a greener Chelmsford together!”

Cllr Rose Moore, Cabinet Member for a Greener Chelmsford

Outdoor learning opportunities for local schools 

Love Your Chelmsford offers a range of horticultural activities in our parks and green spaces suitable for school children of all ages and abilities. Sessions are, where possible, held in a Chelmsford park within easy walking distance of the school or college, and the council’s parks team will lead pupils in practical outdoor learning tasks like planting winter bulbs and young trees. To find out more, visit the Love Your Chelmsford website.