Schools
Key Hill Cemetery Nature Trails
Since 2006, we have organised Nature Trails of Key Hill Cemetery in partnership with the City Council’s Parks Ranger Service.
Key Hill Cemetery is a Grade II Listed Historic Garden and is the resting place of many famous characters from Alfred Bird, inventor of eggless custard to John Baskerville and Harry Gem, inventor of Lawn Tennis.
The Nature Trails include an introduction to the history of the Cemetery, insect hunts, flora and fauna identification, sketching, grave rubbings and photography.
It is estimated that almost 200 children from local schools including Barford, Brookfield’s, St Patrick’s & Nelson Primary Schools have taken part in one of our trails.
Meadow Planting
St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School has been involved in ‘In Bloom’ projects with the Jewellery Quarter for the last two years, from Nature Trails of Key Hill Cemetery to window sticker design competitions. This year, the school was invited to participate in a Meadow Planting Trial as part of their Green Day event, held on 5th June.
Wildflower meadows are usually found in the countryside – on hills, in valleys and along the coast. Meadows are very important because they offer the perfect home for insects such as butterflies, moths and bird life, but sadly they are dying out in the British countryside.
We want to find out whether it is possible to create a wildflower meadow in an urban environment and the optimum conditions for successful growth.
The children spent a day preparing part of a 115′ area for the planting, which involved removal and replanting of shrubs, weeding and raking the soil.
A wildflower mix including blue cornflowers, corn marigolds, ox-eye daisies, common poppies and corn marigolds was sown by the children at the end of a very long day and although it will take some time before the meadow is fully grown, the school will take care of the meadow, recording and monitoring its progress by completing a photographic diary.
