SCHOOLCHILDREN in North Oxfordshire will be getting their lessons in a wildflower meadow from the spring.

Pupils from Bicester, Thame and surrounding villages will be invited to a new environmental education programme at Meadow Farm.

They will use nets to catch insects, discover medieval ridges in the hay meadows and explore the denizens of new ponds.

Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) was awarded £8,000 to run sessions from national education charity the Ernest Cook Trust.

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Farm education officer Rachel Strachan said the grant was the “first of its kind” in the area funding wildlife and heritage education.

Ernest Cook chief executive Nicholas Ford said: “This is a very exciting initiative and fits in very well with the trust’s ethos of helping children learn from the land.”

The educational programme will link closely with the aims of the new curriculum for children to learn outdoors about the nature and history of their area.

Schools will be invited to visit from the spring and throughout the wildflower season and discover rare butterfly species living in the farm’s hedgerows.

To find out more call the office on 01869 245864 or email meadowfarm@bbowt.org.uk

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