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Information and public services for the Island of Jersey

L'înformâtion et les sèrvices publyis pouor I'Île dé Jèrri

Bats on the timetable

13 October 2017

The Department of the Environment is working with local primary schools to help pupils learn about Jersey bats in science lessons.

It’s the second phase of a project to increase awareness of Jersey bats and their environment. The Jersey Bat Project was launched in May, using campaign mascot Hugh the Bat to raise the profile of bats and their place in our eco system.

Environment officers have worked with the Education Department to develop an education pack with lesson plans that schools can use to meet the requirements of the curriculum.

The packs have been given to all Island primary schools for use with pupils in years three and four. The pack includes the offer of a school assembly to be delivered by the Jersey Bat Group and two bat boxes to go up in school grounds. The boxes have been made at Jersey Prison, and by Les Landes School pupils.

Research Ecologist for the Department of the Environment, Nina Cornish said

‘We’re delighted to be working closely with the Education Department to link core subjects like science, with fascinating information about Jersey’s unique environment and the creatures that inhabit it. We really hope it will inform the next generation of Islanders about the richness and importance of our natural environment and what we can do to protect it.’

eco active Programme Manager Jane Burns said ‘Our experience at eco active is that Island schools work hard to ensure sustainability is embedded in lessons so this is a way of providing more direct support to schools to support those efforts and we hope that further down the line we can include more local environmental topics in classrooms, clearly linked to the curriculum.

‘We’ve had a lot of help from the Bat Conservation Trust and Les Landes School to ensure that what we’re producing for schools maps science curriculum requirements, and is both useful for our fantastic teachers, and interesting for pupils. It hasn’t been easy or quick, but it’s really been worth it to see the end result.’

An Education Department spokesperson said ‘This is a good example of how the Jersey Curriculum can help children to understand more about their island. This has worked because Environment colleagues have understood the science curriculum and worked hard to provide good quality resources that are ready for teachers to use straight away.’

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