Wychwood C E Primary School

Jane Bowley writes

At the Wychwood School we identified that modern agricultural practices have made a dramatic impact on the landscape.

I talked to the children about the impact of modern farming methods on local wildlife and was able to show them maps created from the records of the Thames Valley Environmental Recording Centre that show that there are far fewer species records in this area than in the other areas. Amanda showed the children historic maps that showed the changes in field sizes and loss of woodland and orchards.

We also used examples of old farm workers’ clothing and the working model of the old Saxon mill that fascinated the children as there is still a modern working mill in the village.

Sally and Tom showed their audio-visual tour of the village which included several examples of the local farm buildings some of which are huge industrial style silos etc. However, they found that when they started their drawings very few of the children wanted to draw these buildings as they were far more interested in the wildlife.The children’s drawings reflect the open panoramas of the area and they contain noticeably less creatures and objects in the skies giving a very distinctive and open outlook to their finished drawings.

The level of enthusiasm for this project from the school is shown in the article included in their website as part of their celebration week activities.

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