The new OVO Foundation Nature Prize is giving funding to schools to help students and their communities connect with nature.
Schools were challenged to come up with their own initiatives – winning entries include plans to grow veg in an urban school with no green space, and to create gardens and spaces tailored for people with disabilities.
Entrants were asked for ideas that would increase students’ access to nature – particularly those from less-advantaged backgrounds, as well boosting biodiversity in the school grounds and kick-starting climate action. The competition attracted nearly 200 entries.
“We want to ensure all children and young people, but especially those in under-served communities, have access to nature – and we also know that students want to be equipped with the skills, knowledge, and opportunities to protect it,” said Hannah Howard, Head of OVO Foundation. “Our Nature Prize, and the wider Let’s Go Zero campaign, is a brilliant catalyst for schools to kickstart climate action in school grounds and in every classroom. The winning projects will see their innovative ideas come to fruition, yet every school can gain inspiration from what’s possible with limited resources but a vision for a greener, brighter future for the next generation.”
Djanogly Sherwood Academy, Nottingham, is one of the schools to be awarded £1000.
Students and staff at this urban primary school in Nottingham won £1,000 to buy hydro-veg kits for the playground. The school’s student ‘Green Leaders’ will be responsible for looking after the kits and the food that they grow, which will then be given out to local families. The school has no green space on site and will use the hydro-veg kits to teach its students about sustainable food growing in urban areas.
Descriptions of all winning projects can be found on the Let’s Go Zero website.
