Lockers Park Pupils Go Back to Nature to Study Biodiversity

Lockers Park School’s Year 7 pupils visited The Box Moor Trust, gathering fascinating insights about the local area.

Helping bring science to life is a vital component of Lockers Park’s creative curriculum. Year 7 Lockers Park pupils visited The Box Moor Trust to study biodiversity in the area as part of their Science Fieldwork programme. The Box Moor Trust was founded in 1594 and manages some 480 acres of agricultural and amenity land for the benefit of the inhabitants of Hemel Hempstead and Bovingdon.

The trip included working out the number of different plant species growing in different habitats via the use of quadrats. The Trust has a number of contrasting habitats comprising woodland, meadows, ponds, rivers and agricultural areas, which pupils enjoyed comparing. A spot of pond dipping resulted in the boys spying both adult and baby newts, some dragonfly larvae and water beetles! The exciting finds revealed that the pond there is both healthy and diverse.

Christopher Wilson, Headmaster at Lockers Park says: ‘Many thanks to Lockers Park staff and the team at The Box Moor Trust for delivering such insightful information about biodiversity. The boys had a memorable day out and enjoyed exploring the contrasting habitats to enhance their learning. We are lucky to have these facilities right on our doorstep.’

Lockers Park Preparatory School sits in Boxmoor, on the outskirts of Hemel Hempstead. It is a leading day and boarding school for boys aged 7-13, with a thriving Pre-Prep for boys and girls aged 4-7 – see www.lockerspark.herts.sch.uk for further information.