Biodiversity
Climate change
By Michael Jones, teacher at Northfleet Technology College, UK.
Michael received a partnership grant in 2021 from the Royal Society to undertake a project looking at the variety and complexity of wildlife and plants in their local nature reserve. He was also a finalist of the Climate Change Challenge in 2023 and 2024.
Life is a journey through many paths and experiences. If truth be told, most of these are a product of chance no matter how we might believe they are planned for. Some might call it ‘happenstance’.
Our current global situation is a giant example of happenstance. The minds who kickstarted the industrial revolution didn’t plan for the Earth of 2025 to be facing the manmade challenges that present themselves to us. Now is the time for us, and I mean all of us, to act. Enough of happenstance, the next decade requires planning and foresight without an eye to political advantage and national gains.
So, how did I come to be concerned about the climate emergency? Truth be told, until recently I did my bit: recycled where I could, reused where possible and kept an eye on my central heating. I was aware of the impending challenges but not sure where or how I could start and, perhaps more worryingly, whether I could make any real difference.
Let’s jump to 2021, the time of Covid. As the world started to return to a previous existence, teachers were faced with a sociopsychological challenge: how do we reintegrate pupils back into education? This is where happenstance intervenes. My school at the time had a small area of fenced land. Previously used as a science garden that had fallen into disrepair. I took the time to explore the area and the question 'what lives here?' repeatedly came to me. The question recurred over the next days too.
Without planning, the idea formed that answering the question and reintegrating pupils could be combined. What if the pupils explore this question in groups? This would:
- offer an insight into the flora and fauna literally on our doorstep
- provide an opportunity for pupils to regain normality and
- develop an awareness of biodiversity and environment.
This is where happenstance is abandoned, mostly, and planning steps in. What were we to do with the information we gather? Would it be what is expected, less than or more than what is expected? To be able to answer these questions set out a train of exploration and research. Before we knew it, we were on a biodiversity journey. The ‘we’ includes me.
Generating interest in the ‘what lives here’ now provided the foundation for a rapid journey into direct, head-on, achievable and purposeful action at a very local level. Discussions with the students, along with help from STEM Ambassadors, gave us a starting point. If carbon is an issue and trees are a carbon capture device let’s plant trees. So we did. Three years and 2000 trees later, we had created a carbon sink. When I say ‘trees’ I do not mean leviathan like structures. Most were whips; you could easily hold 10 in one hand.
Now, this is where one key, small and individually achievable action (planting a tree) has a chain reaction effect. Trees provide habitat. That’s two climate actions being achieved:
- slow but relentless carbon capture
- more immediate shelter and growing conditions for insects and small mammals.
Our research showed that this is in effect a circular economy in miniature. Growing trees provide food and shelter. The insects and birds pollinate the trees, which in turn bear fruit, which in turn provide further food … You get the idea. As a group we had addressed the climate emergency. At this stage we could walk away, leave the tree/fauna cycle to develop by itself. Of course, we did not walk away. Settling on planting was step one. Easy to frame, easy to do.
Knowing that the increase in flora would be a key element for pollinators, we investigated and agreed that an apiary was the next step.
Having a source of pollen and nectar so close would improve the chances of success for bees. This reinforced the cycle: adding around 100,000 pollinators to the area would help our trees and other flora and the surrounding area. Before you know it, we have two beehives.
Trust me when I tell you, bees are an easy win in addressing the climate emergency. Get them in place, interfere minimally and they largely do their part for the climate. There is an added benefit in here, honey is a valuable cash crop. Retailing at around £15 per kilo and with a conservative yield of 20 kg, the bees pay for their maintenance and generate a surplus.
In parallel with the tree, insect, bee action we considered how we could find out what is happening on the site. This moved us away from the ‘what lives here?’ question and into the ‘what happens here?’ theatre. The site does not have mains power. We wanted to monitor the environment: wind, rainfall, temperature, volatile gasses. This provided an opportunity for us to explore solar energy. A great educational opportunity and chance to act at a local level. It was agreed, we would install a small set of solar panels and power storage to power a weather station. Here was climate action in action. Before we knew it, we had data 24 hours a day informing us of the local environment. Well almost; it turns out that in high temperatures and searing sunlight solar panels stop working! This provided an excellent example of the flaws in technology and how the environment influences action.
Being a technologist, I am fascinated and driven by how technology can be used to combat climate issues. Returning to the bees, whilst they do not like being disturbed, they do need monitoring – knowing what the different sounds they make means can be the difference between a full hive or one which has swarmed. How to monitor this on a remote site without power (the solar farm was at the other end of the area)? Mini solar systems were researched. Using a solar powered GSM device, we installed a set of sensors into the hives. These automatically transmitted the environmental data (heat and humidity are enemies of bees) along with the sound frequencies. Although within walking distance this was proof of concept. Our hives could be hundreds of miles away and we could monitor their health. Simple solution.
With our nature reserve established (note the change from science garden to nature reserve) we had begun a journey in tackling the climate emergency. The trees would do their job quietly and consistently, every year becoming a little more entrenched and providing the pivot on which the biodiversity for flora and fauna. Of course, all the while they are helping to target global warming through removing carbon which has a direct impact on us as part of the larger biosphere.
Where next? The tree planting included an orchard of over 100 fruit trees. These were more established with fruiting likely in the next 2 years. This was not happenstance. A decision was made to act on food scarcity. Like many areas in the UK, the area around the nature reserve has very real pockets of need and economic hardship. Several foodbanks are in place to address this.
At a minimum of 50 kg of fruit per tree, this provides an eventually yield of around 5000 kg. More than enough to provide fresh, organic fruit to the school population. The decision was made to donate 50% of the fruit yield, year on year, to the local community. A small step but an action that, aligned with the actions of others, amounts to large impact.
All this from asking a question and planting a tree – happenstance?
