Inspiring the Next Generation of Pollinator Champions
Alongside our pollinator training for Hackney Housing grounds staff and community gardeners, ecoACTIVE is proud to be delivering hands-on pollinator training for school children across East London.
Last year, ecoACTIVE was awarded a grant from the John Lewis Partnership Nature Fund to deliver a year-long programme of environmental learning and access-to-nature activities for disadvantaged children and young people in East London. This ambitious programme brings nature into everyday learning through outdoor education and forest school sessions for early years, sustainability education and green skills training for secondary and post-16 students, and the piloting of a brand-new pollinator training programme for primary schools.
Learning Through Doing
Our pollinator training builds on a series of hands-on projects delivered through the Hackney Buzzline programme. Children have explored the fascinating world of butterflies and moths through classroom lessons led by Butterfly Conservation, planted bee-friendly flower beds on school grounds, learned how to identify bees and butterflies in local parks, and taken part in inspiring educational visits to Kew Gardens.
These experiences help pupils connect classroom learning with the natural world around them, developing curiosity, confidence and care for local wildlife.
Pollinator Training Across Three Schools
We are delivering the pollinator training programme over three school terms at Kingsmead, Mandeville and Nightingale primary schools, all located along the Hackney Buzzline.
In the first term, pupils combined classroom learning with outdoor fieldwork, carrying out surveys of wildflower meadows in nearby parks. Through this, they developed real-world skills in observation, species identification and data collection, while learning why pollinators are so important for healthy ecosystems.
Last term focused on practical habitat creation, tailored to each school site. Kingsmead pupils sowed wildflowers along school railings, Mandeville pupils created a dedicated pollinator corner in a large planter, and Nightingale pupils planted a rooftop pollinator garden. Each activity gave children ownership of new habitats they will continue to care for over time.
This term, ecoACTIVE will be installing bee nesting boxes alongside these new habitats. Designed so children can observe bees safely as they nest, these features will help pupils better understand pollinator life cycles and the importance of providing shelter as well as food.
Building Skills, Stewardship and Confidence
This pilot programme demonstrates ecoACTIVE’s growing role as a training provider for pollinator education. By supporting schools to combine curriculum-linked learning with practical habitat creation, we are helping young people develop environmental knowledge, green skills and a lasting sense of stewardship for local green spaces.
Most importantly, the programme gives children meaningful opportunities to engage with nature, right where they live and learn, planting seeds not just for pollinators, but for a more nature-connected future.
