Wild Marlow was delighted to be present at the Marlow Schools Eco conference in March. Great Marlow School hosted the event and along with around eight other organisations who each had a booth, we were able to engage with the children of Marlow on the whole theme of the environment and sustainability.
Catherine and Nick from Wild Marlow spent the morning talking with primary school pupils and teachers from across the town. The level of interest and the detail of questioning by the children was a delight. Each child had a card to complete and needed to find the “magic letter” on our stand to complete their eco word. This enabled the children to aim to visit every stand and ask at least one question of the organisations represented. Our letter was “W” from Wild and helped them spell “Eco Warrior” by the end of their visit to all the stands.
The afternoon followed the same pattern but for secondary students. The level of interest and energy remained through out the day although the questions varied across the schools and age groups. The posters and display material was of interest to children and staff alike and while some of them knew Wild Marlow for many it was their first chance to hear about all the exciting things we do.
Nick provided the overview and promoted the photo competition, Catherine went through the extensive display we had on swifts while also touching on all the other issues of interest for the children and for Wild Marlow.
Of special interest when Nick and Catherine spoke were the Wild Marlow props. The cuddly toy otter and the stuffed swift, of true size and weight, were real conversation openers, as were the flash card with interesting facts. For the students who were a little shy or not interested, just handing them a card without saying anything to them was a great opener. They couldn’t help but read them and then the questions rolled.
Nick and Catherine were pleasantly surprised by the excitement and knowledge of many of the children. Perhaps the top five interests were:
- Habitat and ecology in and around Marlow
- Swifts, their migration and their lifestyles
- Otters and the fact that Marlow has them in our stretch of the River Thames as well as local lakes and streams
- The importance of wildlife to sustainability and human habitat
- The photo competition and the images and posters from previous students in the calendar and on our posters.
We even had one student who’s photo was on display having been a winner in the last competition. He and his friends were so excited seeing that on our wall.
The day was very worthwhile for Wild Marlow. We made ourselves known and created some useful contacts and a way in to each school as they all have wildlife projects and interest.
