Pupils unveil new mural in Woodland Classroom at St Dunstan’s College

St Dunstan’s College Junior School is delighted to unveil a new wildlife mural in the Woodland Classroom.

Local artists Emma Barnie and Siôned Knight worked with junior pupils over several days creating a mural to compliment the outdoor learning space. The beautiful piece features trees, birds, a fox and a pond – all things found in the Woodland Classroom.

The Junior School Woodland Classroom, which was opened in 2020 after the lockdown, was created as part of St Dunstan’s sustainability programme and is one of two outdoor pond areas on the school grounds.

The outdoor area includes a large pond, mud kitchen, bug house and a fire pit area. Regular Forest School lessons take place in the classroom and pupils learn more about the importance of nature. The area attracts a variety of wildlife including frogs, newts, bugs, foxes and birds.

The second Senior School ecology pond is located on the top field, and students in the Ecology Society have been busy these year encouraging biodiversity. They have planted native species for the hedges and installed several bird feeders. Most recently, the society have also installed a camera to keep an eye on the wildlife.

Students, staff and parents at St Dunstan’s College are passionate about creating a sustainable future. Earlier this year, the College also awarded a BREEAM Excellent rating for its new Junior School and STEM buildings following a sustainability assessment. The assessment, carried out by Blewburton Limited, scored the College’s new developments on areas including health and wellbeing, energy, transport, water, land use and ecology. 

This year, St Dunstan’s extensive planting programme has come into action, which included a number of ‘pollutant capturing’ trees that have been planted alongside the South Circular perimeter and a number of wild-flower areas including outside the Wellness Centre – St Dunstan’s dedicated hub of student wellbeing.

The estates team have also left ‘wild’ sections of the College grounds to grow and attract biodiversity, wherever they can.  The team also created a new and improved cycle park, in a secure area at the front of the College, to encourage families to leave their cars at home, wherever possible. The College is also marking the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with the planting of more than 70 trees across the school’s two sites.