Langley Gardeners' Diary
Tuesday 6th June 2023
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Wednesday 29th March 2023
Back in September, the gardening group planted bulbs in the Pollen & Nectar Cafe and now the area is blooming lovely! We have winter aconite, snake's head (fritillary), puschkinias (Russian snowdrops), hyacinths, anemones and daffodils. Over the next few years, the bulbs should multiply and produce even more blooms!
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Tuesday 28th March 2023
This week, Year 4 took part in RHS's Big Seed Sow by making seed bombs to place in our Pollen & Nectar Cafe.
In order to create healthy ecosystems, and encourage biodiversity, it is essential we look after our pollinators. Therefore, we carefully chose seeds that will entice them to visit our cafe. In four to six weeks, we should see a blast of blooms and pollinators picnicking peacefully in this area!
If you want to make your own seed bombs, please follow the instructions below.
5 cups peat free compost
3 cups flour
1 cup wildflower seeds
Water
- Add flour, compost and seeds to a bowl, and mix together.
- Add some water and mix together until you have a dough like mixture.
- Roll the mixture into ball shapes.
- Leave to dry (24 - 48hrs).
- Once dry, place them in your garden and wait for Mother Nature to help them explode!
Thursday 2nd March 2023
On our carpark, we have a textile recycling bin. You can deposit:
Wearable Clothing
Handbags
Belts
Curtains
Towels
Duvets and Duvet Covers
Pillows and Pillowcases
Blankets
Tablecloths
Linens
Cushions
We also have a battery recycling box in the office. If you have any used batteries, please drop them off at the office.
Let's Work Together For Our Planet!
Wednesday 15th February 2023
The Anemone Flower
Research by Max
This is the first flower to grow in our Pollen & Nectar Café this year: the anemone!
How many different anemones are there?
There are over 100 species!
Country of origin
Japan.
Fun facts
The common name is windflower with the name 'anemone' coming from the Greek for 'daughter of the wind'.
Anemones symbolise fragility and love.
Anemones are part of the ranunculaceae family, the same as the buttercup.
Why Should We Plant The Anemone?
The Anemone is known for attracting bees and other pollinators.
Facts You Might Want To Know If You Were To Plant One
The best time to plant the bulbs is September and October and they will bloom in spring. Once the bulbs are planted, water regularly to allow the roots to form.
Friday 3rd February 2023
Less than a year ago, Ms Evans’ ambition was to attain the RHS Five Star Award-Gardening School.
Last week, she received the fabulous news that her application, submitted on behalf of the children working under her leadership, has been successful!
The award is a testament Ms Evans’ drive and to our sustainability ambition to meet our own needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The award brings with it £200 of vouchers, which Ms Evans will use to reinvest in our project.
Thank you, Ms Evans.
Wednesday 14th December 2022
Tips on an Eco-Friendly Christmas (SDG 13 & 15)
During this forthcoming holiday, there are lots of small, simple changes that we can make to ensure we are reducing our environmental impact. A merry Christmas doesn’t need to cost the Earth.
Click on the link below for tips on how to have a greener Christmas:
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-have-eco-christmas
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Wednesday 14th December 2022
RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch (SDG 15)
Please sign up to take part in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey (Jan 27-29) by using the link below:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
The Big Garden Birdwatch is fun, free and for everyone; you don’t even need a garden to take part! This research is vital in monitoring how birds in the UK are currently faring.
Together, let’s make our actions count.
Friday 9th December 2022
This half term, we have been preparing the Pollen & Nectar Café for winter, ensuring we keep relevant sustainability pledges at the forefront of our actions:
Protect and restore nature – SDG 13 & 15
Build a waste-free world - SDG 13 & 15
Pupils from Year 1, 5 & 6 have worked collaboratively to create the majestic ‘Buggingham’, aptly named by year 4, which will provide invertebrates, and a vertebrate or two, searching for a place to hibernate with somewhere safe and dry to live. It has been placed in a sheltered location, near a food source and where it won’t be disturbed by human activity. To encourage biodiversity, we have used different recycled materials to ensure the needs of a variety of animals are met.
Next to Buggingham is a hedgehog house built for our café, which will provide a home for these important prickly pest patrollers. These actions will help to increase the declining numbers of important British wildlife that play a vital part in creating a healthy ecosystem in our café. We’ll keep you updated regarding any residents that move into Buggingham and the hedgehog annex!
As part of their Roman topic, year 4 have created marvellous mosaics for the café; year 6 have grouted and sealed them to ensure they are suitable for the outdoors.
Together we can make a difference!
SDG: Sustainability Development Goal
Invertebrate: animal without a backbone
Vertebrate: animal with a backbone
Biodiversity: different types of life that live together in one area. Each species works together to maintain a healthy balance of life.
Ecosystem: an area where living organisms interact with their surrounding environment.
Friday 9th December 2022
Conserving Water
During this academic year, Year 2 are taking a lead role in researching and sharing ideas for how we can all save water. They have been supported in doing this through some funding from Touchwood, our business sponsor for this academic year, who funded this water butt. Yet to be installed, the children are thrilled with it!
Thursday 1st December 2022
Due to the commitment of our school community, we are very proud and pleased to share the news that we have achieved Level 1 and 2 Greener Solihull Schools Award! Last year, we started on our journey to work 'together for our planet'; therefore, we have implemented a number of positive changes around school, many initiated by the pupils.
During the second year of our sustainability commitment, we will continue to build on last year's successes by enabling our pupils' voices to be heard and their actions to be seen.
Friday 21st October 2022
A big thank you to Langley’s Compost Team and Garden Team for:
Helping clear the playground of leaves and acorns
Collecting the school’s compost each day
Ensuring that brown and green waste are put in the compost bins
Sowing bluebell and wild garlic seeds in the Jubilee Garden
Clearing the paths in the Jubilee Garden
Pruning back shrubs and trees
Planting bulbs and plants in the Pollen & Nectar Café
Researching Langley’s ‘Plant of the Season’
Doing it all with a good, green heart and a huge smile!
Tuesday 18th October 2022
The Helping Hands of Langley's Compost Team (2022-23)
Friday 30th September 2022
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https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-songs/what-bird-is-that/
Friday 23rd September 2022
This week, we have been planting spring-blooming bulbs and heather!
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Thursday 22nd September 2022
Due to our work developing our compost area and the Nectar & Pollen cafe, we have been awarded RHS School Gardening Award Levels 1-4. This year we will be aiming for Level 5!
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September 2022
September 2022
Year 1 March 2022
Last week, year one worked hard planting some parsnips and onions with Mrs Lowe.
They are learning all about the life cycle of plants.
Year 1 Grow Your Own Vegetables
Year 2 March 2022
Year two had an enjoyable afternoon doing some gardening with Mrs Bartlett. They planted some parsnips, potatoes, chives and onions.
Year 2 are learning about what plants need to help them grow.
Growing Your Own Vegetables Year 2
Plastic Free Tea Bags
By The Composting Team February 2022
We are encouraging the use of plastic free tea bags which can be composted as they fully bio-degrade.
List of Plastic-free tea bags:
Abel & Cole
PG Tips
Yorkshire Tea
Clipper
Harney & Sons
Qi Tea
Higher Living Teas
Pukka Herbs
Lipton
Twinings
Sainsbury’s
Waitrose Tea
Tea Bags that DO currently contain plastic:
Morrison’s
Tesco
Aldi
Battery Recycling
February 2022 by Veer and Oliver
There is a box in the office for used batteries, if you have any will you be able join in on this action and give it to the main office it is nearly full and we just need to step it up.
How batteries are recycled
1. Used batteries can be sent for recycling by placing them in collection containers across the UK. Companies like Valpak, in partnership with Ecobat Logistics, collect these boxes
and…
2. Take the batteries away for recycling. Sorting batteries before recycling helps the recycling process. This is because batteries are made from many different chemistries such as lithium-ion, zinc or nickel cadmium. Sorting batteries into their different chemistry types means more of the original material can be recovered
to…
3. Make new products. There are different ways of recycling batteries but the aim is always the same – recovering the raw material used to make the battery so that it can be used again
to
4. Make something new instead of going into landfill.
Good to Be Green Awards
February 2022
As part of our sustainability project adults and children are encouraged to give ‘Good to be Green awards to children who get themselves informed about or raise awareness of green issues or take action to help ‘repair the planet’. Several awards were given out last week in school.
Good To Be Green Awards
Severn Trent is the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Official Nature and Carbon Neutral Supporter, and as part of this they want to inspire young and old to help take care of the nature and water in our beautiful region.
They are looking for a primary school in our region to write an amazing song to encourage everyone to stay hydrated and be kinder to our environment!
The children’s class, 4H had a vote and Lauren’s song was chosen to represent the school. Good luck 4H!
Here is Lauren’s lyric:
We Will Drink It!
All you girls and boys, make a big big noise.
Let’s clean up the seas, no more microbeads.
We are the children, the future of our nation.
Water is the key to all our hydration.
We will, we will drink it.
We will, we will drink it.
You can save the planet by drinking from the tap.
Say NO to plastic bottles, we don’t need more scarp!
The world is in our hands; we’re making big big plans.
Our generation are making a stand.
Refill, refill your bottles.
Refill, refill your bottles.
Caring for the planet, let’s plant more trees.
To benefit all of us, even the bees.
So re-use your bottle and help plant a tree.
Water from the tap is delicious and free!
We will, we will drink it.
We will, we will drink it.
Refill, refill your bottles.
Refill, refill your bottles.
The Composting Team 2021-2022
by Dylan, Veer and Adam. February 2022
As part of our work to ‘Build a waste-free world’, we are trying to use waste fruit and vegetables to make compost we can use in our school.
Children put waste fruit and veg into special bins in the classrooms and we collect this waste daily. Some classes throw away more than others but it is usually apple cores, banana skins and the ends of carrots. Usually, these would go into general waste bins and end up in landfill. We have to check the bins because sometimes there are sandwiches and other unsuitable waste in there.
We also collect teabags and compost the tealeaves but we have to separate the leaves from the bag because the bags have glue on them that we don’t want in the compost. We could be picky and cut the glued sections off but at the moment we open the bags and tip out the tea.
The fruit and vegetables are classed as ‘green’ waste for the purposes of composting. This means it contains a lot of carbon. We also have to add ‘brown’ waste to make compost. Brown waste contains high levels of nitrogen. We use dry leaves, paper towels, cardboard and plain paper as our brown waste. We have to add twice as much brown as green waste to our compost bins.
Today we have added the waste fruit and veg and so later we will have to add twice as much brown waste. We noticed that shortly after we added the waste it compresses, leaving space at the top of the bin. Eventually, the waste mixes and decomposes into a soil-like substance.
It's great fun being on the compost team and we feel like we are playing a part in helping nature and the environment.