‘Save our Pollinators’ was at the forefront of the curriculum at Ysgol y Ddraig, Llantwit Major last week. The National Botanical Garden of Wales treated Year 2 pupils to activities about plants, bees and insects at the school where they learned about pollination and made their own seed balls, along with local MP, Alun Cairns.
The Save our Pollinators campaign recognises that the populations of honey bees and wild pollinators, which we rely on to pollinate the crops we need, are in huge decline. The aim is to understand the reasons for these losses and educate people on how pollinators can be conserved and supported, through information on habitat requirements and the needs of pollinating insects.
Local MP Alun Cairns joined pupils as they took part in practical exercises to learn about how to protect pollinators and helped them as they made seed balls and potted plants. He said that he had received hundreds of letters and emails last year from local residents expressing concern about the risks to bees and he committed to working to help fight the reduction of their numbers.
Alun said, “I’m really pleased Lucy from the National Botanical Gardens of Wales visited Ysgol Y Ddraig to help students learn about the importance of protecting our pollinators.”
“The children really enjoyed learning about important plant families for pollinating insects through doing some planting of their own and I had a lot of fun helping them. The Acting Head teacher, Miss Cadman, truly recognises the importance of learning about our environment and I’m delighted that her school are so actively engaged with this campaign.”