by Alex Wirth – Head Teacher at Anston Greenlands Primary School in Rotherham
18th June 2026
A few years ago, it would’ve been unthinkable (and it still feels ridiculous to write it!) but our small community primary school has found itself at the forefront of an environmental movement that’s sweeping across Yorkshire and is starting to make an impact internationally!
Inspired to take action by Sir David Attenborough’s book “A Life On Our Planet”, we had the idea of starting a free rewilding award for Rotherham schools, recognising and rewarding them for allocating a part of their grounds to grow wild. Schools can earn higher awards by rewilding bigger proportions of their green space and involving children and families in their rewilding work. In return, they earn a certificate, a badge for their letterhead and the knowledge that they’re doing their bit to support nature’s recovery and fight the climate crisis.
We launched the award in October 2023, and the idea met with an immediate groundswell of support; far more so than we could’ve hoped. We were delighted when 22 schools signed up in the first year, with over half of those achieving the gold standard. Our second year saw this engagement doubling, with the cohort including schools from other parts of Yorkshire, meaning that we had to change the name from “Rewilding Rotherham” to “Rewilding Schools”! Year 2 also saw the project going international, when we were featured at the World Education Summit.
We’ve now widened our remit. As well as running the award, we also run a free Rewilding Network for schools, and we’ve been lucky enough to host workshops from colleagues at the Wildlife Trust, Let’s Go Zero and the National Education Nature Park to name a few. Collectively, we’ve created at least 20,000m2 – 40,000m2 of new wild space across our region, and these partnerships have helped to ensure that this space comprises high-quality habitats that are increasing biodiversity. Even more importantly, we’re teaching a generation of children and young people the immense value of environmental action on their doorstep.
One of the most exciting developments for our project came when we learnt that we had been chosen as a home for one of the 49 saplings rescued by the National Trust, following the illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree. We are amongst prestigious company, including Alder Hay Children’s Hospital and The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, and as one of only two primary schools nationwide chosen to host a sapling, feel incredibly honoured. The tree was planted on our school grounds on behalf of every school and organisation that has taken part in our rewilding project, in a ceremony featuring our local mayor, our MP and visitors from across the community. We were featured in the local press and on BBC Look North, which was a very exciting moment for all the children!
We’re now in the third year of the Rewilding Schools Award, and if you work in a school that’s keen to join in, now is a perfect time to get in touch. The criteria are simple: for the Bronze Award, any amount of new wild space will suffice. For the Silver Award, we ask for either 15% of your total green space to be wild, or 25% of your “available green space” (space that you’re not safeguarding for sports pitches etc.) We also ask you to engage your children in your rewilding efforts. Finally, for the Gold Award, those percentages are 30% of your green space, or 50% of your “available green space”, along with engagement of both children and families.
We’ve deliberately kept the reporting requirements to a bare minimum; the idea of the award is to create better spaces for nature and to promote rewilding education, not to create a mountain of paperwork! As such, all you need to do to apply is email me directly with an expression of interest. At the end of the year, we ask for a second email with your percentages and a brief overview of what you’ve been up to – it’s as easy as that!
So far, our participating schools have used the award to kick-start a wide range of different rewilding initiatives. We’ve had new ponds, expanded hedgerows, huge areas of new wild meadow and a whole host of new nature corridors. If you’re interested in adding your school’s work into our network, or if you’d like to support the project in any way we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to email me directly at the address below – I’m always happy to talk rewilding!
Further information
- You can find out more about the project here.
- Contact Head Teacher Alex at alex.wirth@nclt.ac.uk