Primary School children will be shown how they can support wildlife and the environment after the launch of ‘Eco Buddies’, a new educational programme from affordable housebuilder, Orbit Homes.

The programme is targeted at KS2 students to support 7-11 year olds in understanding the importance of nature and how all living things are connected.

Eco Buddies will see Orbit Homes partner with schools local to their developments to carry out activities that support greater biodiversity within school grounds, whilst also demonstrating how students can make a positive impact in and around their own homes.

The developer’s colleagues will collaborate with schools and volunteer their time to deliver a choice of sessions, including building eco-friendly features such as bug hotels, bird boxes or hedgehog homes around school grounds to support greater biodiversity.

Activities will use recycled waste from Orbit Homes’ building sites where possible and will encourage schools and children to reuse their own materials in a fun, creative and positive way.

The housebuilder has also developed a series of supporting worksheets and activities in line with the national curriculum which can be used both at home and in school, including the chance for children to try their hand at a news report on ‘mini beasts’ and much more.

Eco Buddies activities and resources are modelled on actions Orbit Homes is already taking at its construction sites to develop sustainably and promote biodiversity.

Helen Moore, Group Director for Orbit Homes, said: “As a housebuilder that is passionate about maximising our positive social and environmental impacts, particularly within the communities in which we build, we are delighted to be able to help use our position as environmental stewards to drive positive change for future generations via Eco Buddies.

“Eco Buddies is a great opportunity to give children an insight into some of the eco-friendly features our teams already install at our developments, how these enhance the environment around us, and what else they can do at home to promote greater biodiversity. We look forward to being able to share our knowledge so children can learn how to make their own positive difference to the environment.

“All our resources are freely available online and we encourage local schools that are interested in trying a session to contact us to plan a visit.”

Orbit Homes recently joined other housing developers in the ‘Homes for Nature’ commitment, a five-year initiative to provide a simple, consistent approach to increasing wildlife on all new developments. This means that all new homes will include at least one nature positive feature, such as bird nesting boxes, with sites also including further measures like hedgehog highways. To read more, visit here.

Classroom resources are available for schools to download at orbithomes.org.uk/eco-buddies, including worksheets for lower and upper KS2 pupils.