The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom (CLOtC) and Canal & River Trust have been awarded a grant of £1.7 million from the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund. The project, named Waterways, Wildlife and Wellbeing, aims to create new animal habitats along canals in Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire and increase environmental learning and connection with nature for more than 140,000 pupils in the region.
The project will support a total of 500 schools across the West Midlands to develop their curriculum to include more learning beyond the classroom to boost pupils’ environmental understanding and connection to wildlife.
Dr Anne Hunt, chief executive of the CLOtC, said the project “will help more children in our towns and cities benefit from regular contact and connection with the nature on their doorstep.
“Learning outside the classroom and connection with nature improves health and wellbeing too, which is so important as we continue to recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic.”
The project will begin development in the autumn term and conclude in the spring term 2023.
