Georgia Prasad, Senior Learning Producer at the Natural History Museum

In my role at the Natural History Museum, I am responsible for curriculum development for the National Education Nature Park. This free programme for all schools, nurseries and colleges in England, commissioned by the Department for Education, empowers children and young people to make a positive difference to both their own and nature’s future. 

In this blog I’ll explain the programme and how it can support the Cambridge OCR curriculum as well as inspiring young people to build a connection with nature on their doorstep.

What is the National Education Nature Park?

The National Education Nature Park is a free curriculum-linked education programme led by the Natural History Museum that puts climate and nature at the heart of education. Through the programme, young people in schools, colleges and nurseries in England are connecting with nature and developing their green skills, while also boosting the biodiversity on their grounds. 

In this ambitious and world-leading project, more than 6,000 education settings have already signed up and more than 8 million square metres of habitats have been mapped. Children and young people are joining actions such as digging new ponds, creating green walls and growing pollinator-friendly plants across the country’s education estate – an area around twice the size of Birmingham. They also have the opportunity to collaborate with Natural History Museum scientists to track the difference being made.

How can schools and colleges get involved?

The Nature Park has a five-step cycle that schools can follow to guide them through the programme. The first of these steps is ‘Getting to know your space’, and we have a whole host of activities to start learners off, from our hidden nature challenge to mapping your site. 

We recommend teachers look around our free resource library to see what might best support their lessons. You can also read through the Nature Park climate education framework for guidance on how to implement comprehensive climate education at a school, classroom or scheme of work level.

How many schools and colleges are taking part?

More than 6,000 educational establishments across all regions of England have already signed up to the programme and are on various points on their Nature Park journey. Some are just starting to explore their sites and map out their habitats. We’ve got schools creating green spaces through building green walls and wildlife corridors, and others have been busy using their school grounds for curriculum learning. 

Check out our case studies: 

• Lady Manners School in Derbyshire has been using its school grounds as a classroom. 
• Students at Co-op Academy Manchester have been transforming their site for both people and wildlife.

What support resources are available?

The National Education Nature Park has an extensive, and continuously growing, library of free curriculum-aligned resources from early years foundation stage to KS5. There’s educator guidance, short activities and digital mapping tools through to scheme of work supporting units. Over the first two years, the programme has focused on developing science, geography and citizenship resources. The suite of digital tools empowers young people to be community scientists, collecting and analysing data to help improve biodiversity on their own education site, and collaborating on real scientific research with Natural History Museum scientists.

How can this support Cambridge OCR qualifications?

There are a range of units of learning that support the delivery of topics within qualifications across the Cambridge OCR curriculum. 

Here are some examples: 

• Biology: Nature Park can support the Cambridge OCR GCSE biology programme with a focus on ecosystems. 
• Geography/Science: There are multiple resources to support Cambridge OCR GCSE Geography and Cambridge OCR GCSE Science, specifically the teaching of climate change, earth and atmospheric science and the changing weather and climate. 
• Geography: Guidance for teachers on integrating National Education Nature Park resources into their existing geography curriculums such as Cambridge OCR geography is being developed. KS3 teacher guidance and KS4 guidance already exists for geography; look out for KS5 geography fieldwork resources coming soon too. 
• Citizenship: There are a range of resources to support Cambridge OCR GCSE Citizenship such as environmental information rights. 
• Maths: Real world data such as interpreting climate models can be used to support the teaching of Cambridge OCR GCSE maths. 

There is a wider range of support available for geography on the National Education Nature Park website for different key stages, and we’ll be launching KS5 resources later this year.

Crucially, all our resources are quality assured with many being verified by the Royal Meteorological Society. They are taken through a rigorous quality control process so teachers know the content is accurate and reliable. 

What’s the plan for the future and other subjects

The Nature Park is continuing to develop a suite of resources across key stages and subjects. We’re working closely with educators – through co-creation events and focus groups – to create resources which work for you and your learners. 

We’ll be developing further resources, such as green career materials to sit alongside the already existing suite. Plus, there’ll be new bespoke resources to help integrate nature and biodiversity into the maths and computing curriculum. 

Keep up to date with news from the Nature Park and register your centre and get involved.

Stay connected

If you have any questions about our qualifications, you can email us at support@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X @ocrexams. You can also sign up to subject updates to keep up-to-date with the latest news, updates and resources.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use our online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.

About the author

Georgia is Senior Learning Producer at the Natural History Museum, responsible for curriculum development for the National Education Nature Park. Previously, she has worked as an Education Advisor and Environmental Education Officer for Greenpeace UK and Education Manager for the award-winning social enterprise Green Schools Project. Georgia is a trained forest school leader and has developed and delivered outdoor learning programmes with various organisations, including The Royal Parks and London Wildlife Trust. She started her education career as a primary and special educational needs teacher, working in a range of inner-city London schools.