Designing with biodiversity in mind
How we design and develop school estates can make a real difference to our pupils' school life, the learning opportunities available at the school and the natural value of the grounds. For new build and major refurbishments, the following information will be important in integrating biodiversity considerations into the planning, funding, approval and implementation.
Biodiversity projects can be considered for any school estate, whether new or existing. This material is relevant to both.
Key documents include:
- Building Better Schools: investing in Scotlands Future
, Scotland's strategy for school estates.
- The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy
- Local Biodiversity Action Plans
- Relevant local Greenspace strategies or audits
- Outdoor learning and Curriculum for Excellence , and in particular Biodiversity outcomes and experiences in the Science guide .
- If there is no Local Biodiversity Action Plans, an existing model can be used, like North Lanarkshire Habitat Action Plan that includes school grounds.
Follow the links below for more support through the various steps in the design process: project goals & site audit; people who can help & sources of funding; planning your project and project approval & completion.
Case Study - Harmeny School
The outdoor education centre based at Harmeny school provides a range of different environments for children with significant additional support needs. There is a strong emphasis on the design of the outdoor environment as a curriculum resource and to support wellbeing. It includes allotments, woodland and a pond area.
Find out more about Harmeny School .
Project goals and site audit
Take steps to establish the aims of the project. Consider what is appropriate and what is feasible.
Project approval and completion
You may need to take action to identify and protect species and habitats of interest as the site is developed.