Award winning housebuilder, Linden Homes, and leading ecological consultancy, The Ecology Consultancy, recently teamed up to deliver an ecology workshop to pupils at Churchill Church of England Primary School.
Following work to protect the wildlife that inhabited Linden Homes’ new Westerham development, The Ivies, the two businesses coordinated three hour-long workshops to introduce the importance of ecology for over 70 children aged seven to nine.
The sessions began with talks from Debbie Gallier and Mark Thompson, sales and site managers respectively at Linden Homes. The pair introduced The Ivies to the children as their local Westerham housing development, and discussed the health and safety protocols of a building site.
Tailored to the school’s Key Stage 2 curriculum, the workshops were then led by ecologists from The Ecology Consultancy, Matt Pendry and Tamzin Davis.
After beginning the session with an introduction to ecology, an explanation of what an ecologist does, and how they work with developers, Matt and Tamzin led a series of activities for each class.
These saw pupils identifying the animals and plants that had been re-located from the housing development site to the outdoor receptor area, carefully constructed by Linden Homes for use by the school.
Commenting on the success of the workshops, Mark Thompson, site manager at Linden Homes South East, said: “Through our work with The Ecology Consultancy we have recorded 70 species of plant and moved over 100 lizards and slow worms in to the receptor area built at Churchill Primary School. Not only do these species now have a new home but the pupils of the school can enjoy and learn from their new outdoor area.
“As a result of the close connection with the school, we were keen to tell the children about the work we’d been doing in person, so we wanted to be on hand to answer any questions about this new development that will soon be part of their local neighbourhood.
“Each workshop was a great success and it was fantastic to work alongside Matt and Tamzin, seeing the children’s faces light up as they asked questions about the animals. We hope they continue to enjoy learning in their new outdoor classroom, built for them by us to learn about and enjoy the wildlife.”
Matt Pendry ecologist at The Ecology Consultancy, said: “It was a fantastic experience to be able to deliver our new school ecology workshops to the students at Churchill Church of England Primary School.
“The workshops are a great way of educating the students about ecology in curriculum focused activities, as well as helping them to understand what ecologists do, and how we work alongside developers like Linden Homes to protect the wildlife at some of their sites.”
Once complete, The Ivies will consist of three, four and five bedroom family homes just five minutes from Westerham high street, with Linden Homes’ assisted move and part exchange schemes available on selected properties. The preview launch can be attended by appointment only on Saturday 25th March.
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Media can contact Emma Cox or Alice Simpson on 01962 893893 or email emma.cox@remarkablegroup.co.uk / alice.simpson@remarkablegroup.co.uk for more information, images and interviews with Linden Homes.
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