Hayfield Community Orchard Project


 


HAYFIELD COMMUNITY ORCHARD PROJECT

Notes of the meeting held at 11.00am on 14th September 2009 at Hayfield Primary School.

Present: Cllrs Mrs Sue McCall, P. Gee: Headmaster J Posnett, Mrs E M Crompton
Acting minutes secretary: M Crompton.

1. Discussion
Mrs E Crompton was welcomed as a newly-retired teacher, co-opted onto the steering group, who would now help co-ordinate the curriculum aspects of the project. 

There was a general discussion concerning the timetabling of planting and monitoring events in this project.  It was agreed that the digging should be completed by a mechanical digger, and topsoil provided ready for mid-October.

It was agreed a flyer should be ready with the details for planting beginning 25th October.  Nationally tree-planting day will be on 21st October, and National Tree Week at the end of  November.

2. Dates for action

Date of next meeting: 5th October, 11.00am Hayfield Primary School.

 


Hayfield Parish Council & Hayfield Primary School
proposed Orchard Project

 

Background

Hayfield Parish Council is keen to involve young people in all aspects of village life, and especially in projects which the Council can actively promote.  Equally the Primary School is committed to involving its pupils in the life of the community, and has a strong track record in this regard.

Never has the time been more appropriate to begin a project in Hayfield which has as its primary focus a care for the environment, an awareness of the natural world, the wider issues of climate change, and the imperative for all of us to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and imported foodstuffs.

With this in mind, the School and the Council have jointly devised a long-term project to involve the children and young people of the village.  This scheme is the Orchard Project.

The Parish Council owns several plots of land in the village, mostly recreation areas, and is willing to devote some of this land to the project.  The school grounds also contain small areas that may be suitable for this purpose.

The Project

The aim is to utilize some of the land owned by the Council and the School to cultivate native fruiting trees and shrubs, and at a later stage to involve the older generations to show how locally grown produce can be utilized and preserved for the table.

Each patch of land in the project will be carefully studied and analysed, the conditions monitored over the long-term, the progress of the planted specimens recorded, and a log kept of all the conditions that affect growth and yield.  Starting with a given area, the study will progress and be used as a model to apply to the subsequent patches to be cultivated. 

This will then be an iterative process, with results from a given patch analysed and applied to the second and subsequent patches to be cultivated.  In this way the pupils will build up a comparative record of progress, and be able to identify the optimum conditions for growth, and those factors detrimental to the same.

This means that the project will be rolled out over a number of years, in manageable units, to allow experience to be built up covering all the elements involved.

Not the least benefit of the project will be the recording, processing and analysis of data over a period of years, and the management of the teams responsible for each aspect of the project.

Each stage of the project will be tied into National Curriculum Science Key Stages 1 and 2, and it is with the National Curriculum in mind that the project has been shaped.

It is intended that the project will involve secondary pupils as well, particularly those involved with the Scouts and Brownies.  Their leaders have expressed a keen interest in the project.  If found to be appropriate, the Key Stage correlation could be extended to include Key Stage 3.

 Elements of the project
There will of necessity be a large number of elements in this project.  At a later stage they will be mapped directly onto the Key Stage 1 and 2 outcomes at all 5 levels.

PHASE ONE

            1.  Land

2.  soil type

3.  animal population

4. plant population

5.  micro-climate

All of the above will constitute the base-line data for each plot of land. 
Section 1 will only need to be carried out once. 
Section 2 could be carried out annually to see if the planting and any soil treatment has altered soil conditions, and to what extent and how.
Sections 3 & 4 could be carried out each Spring and Summer to monitor populations.
Section 5 will be carried out by continuous monitoring and will require simple scientific equipment.

Ideally each plot of land should have this base-line study.  In practice this may not be possible, since some plots will have been cleared of undergrowth to allow planting to take place (eg Old School Field).  Other areas may be semi-cultivated and devoid of much biodiversity (eg Playground areas) because of continuous human use.
However monitoring and recording of the lower orders of plants and the subsoil micro-fauna should be possible; the differences recorded may possibly reflect the history and current use and will be useful benchmarks of different land use.

 

 

PHASE TWO

1.  Selection of future crops

2.  Potential crops
a) tree species

b) shrubs and bushes

c) annual and perennial plants

d) uses

There should be a great deal of scope for useful research and discussion in selecting the appropriate crops for the locations chosen.  Phase two will be a fluid exercise in some respects, since suggestions of the potential uses will determine which crops are grown. 

At all levels pupils will initially discuss and research the ideal crops to be grown in the locality.  Resources will be appropriate texts and the Internet.  Older pupils will also carry out investigations with experienced older groups, such as the Allotment Society and gardeners in the village.

There will be scope for much wider aspects to this, on the lines of the mass observations of the pre- and post-war years, to study the uses and husbandry of natural resources in times of scarcity.  Pupils could put together simple questionnaires to ask older members of the community how they managed when imported foodstuffs, or transport and fuels were difficult to obtain or expensive.

 

Not the least interesting aspect of the orchard project will be the measurement of growth, calculating the volume of each tree each year, and from this calculating the weight and hence the amount of carbon dioxide in the form of carbon that each tree has stored each year.  Those items with an asterisk should lend themselves to this aspect of the study.

Part of this will be quite technical, and will require some collaboration with secondary school or even University departments.  There are more than sufficient university personnel resident in the village to facilitate such collaborative links.  It could prove a huge stimulus to pupils to foster and engage in such relatively high-level contacts, not the least to show that this work is immensely relevant to the world they will inherit.

PHASE THREE

3. Care and nurture

 4.  Resources

This is the stage at which amenable but serious instrumentation and resources will be required, and the stage that needs to be adequately resourced for the long term.  It is also the stage at which most efforts will need to be devoted to ensuring adequate training of pupils and staff takes place, and the equipment is of a graduated sophistication to ensure meaningful experience of the scientific method is within the grasp of all levels of the student population. 

There will need to be a great deal of work to ensure that this stage above all is tied into Key Stages 1 and 2, and the appropriate levels of the stages.

It is not too much to hope or expect that there is in school an annual workshop, at the end of the academic year, at which the yearly results are presented by the pupils, in the true spirit of a scientific 'conference', subsequently peer-reviewed by the pupils themselves and written up and published on the school or village website.

5. Methodology

 

How the project is managed and the degree of pupil participation will be the key to the success of this project.
Some aspects of the work will require a great degree of patience, since (literally) the fruits may be some time coming.  All the various aspects of the project will need to be exquisitely timed to retain pupil and staff interest, and to ensure the enthusiasm endures beyond the initial stages.

Above all there should be sufficient variety of activity throughout the year to provide and provoke interest and curiosity about all aspects of the project, and this will need to be built into the project from the outset.

The steering committee will have a great deal of work to do to ensure a rigorous scheduling of activities, observations, recordings and experiments to generate and sustain this impetus.

Perhaps the very first task will be to establish clear and achievable targets for each phase of the project, and set up the desired outcomes to be attained.  These themselves may provide much of the energy, especially if a conference/workshop presentation is a primary goal.

Some thoughts.
Mike Crompton, Clerk to the Parish Council
March 2009

 

Appendix 1
Preliminary background: Key Stages 1 and 2 in the National Curriculum.

The Key Stages are further subdivided into levels as follows:

Key stage 1 levels 1–3                         at age 7  expected to reach level 2
Key stage 2 levels 2–5                         at age11 expected to reach level 4
Key stage 3 levels 3–7                         at age14 expected to reach levels 5/6

So for the Orchard Project within Hayfield School, the project would be expected to cover levels 1 – 5, with an expected attainment of level 2 at age 7 and level 4 at age 11.

National Curriculum Science Key Stages 1 & 2

Promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural
development through science
For example, science provides opportunities to promote:
 spiritual development,through pupils sensing the natural, material, physical world they live in, reflecting on their part in it, and exploring questions such as when does life start and where does life come from?
 moral development, through helping pupils see the need to draw conclusions using observation and evidence rather than preconception or prejudice, and through discussion of the implications of the uses of scientific knowledge, including the recognition that such uses can have both beneficial and harmful effects
 social development, through helping pupils recognise how the formation of opinion and the justification of decisions can be informed by experimental evidence, and drawing attention to how different interpretations of scientific evidence can be used in discussing social issues
 cultural development, through helping pupils recognise how scientific discoveries and ideas have affected the way people think, feel, create, behave and live, and drawing attention to how cultural differences can influence the extent to which scientific ideas are accepted, used and valued.

Promoting key skills through science
For example, science provides opportunities for pupils to develop the key skills of:
 communication, through finding out about and communicating facts, ideas and opinions in a variety of contexts
 application of number, through collecting, considering and analysing first-hand and secondary data
 IT, through using a wide range of ICT
 working with others, through carrying out scientific investigations
 improving own learning and performance, through reflecting on what they have done and evaluating what they have achieved
 problem solving, through finding ways to answer scientific questions with creative solutions.

 

Attainment target 1: scientific inquiry
Level 1
Pupils describe or respond appropriately to simple features of objects, living things and events they
observe, communicating their findings in simple ways [for example, talking about their work, through
drawings, simple charts].
Level 2
Pupils respond to suggestions about how to find things out and, with help, make their own suggestions
about how to collect data to answer questions. They use simple texts, with help, to find information. They
use simple equipment provided and make observations related to their task. They observe and compare
objects, living things and events. They describe their observations using scientific vocabulary and record
them, using simple tables when appropriate. They say whether what happened was what they expected.
Level 3
Pupils respond to suggestions and put forward their own ideas about how to find the answer to a question.
They recognise why it is important to collect data to answer questions. They use simple texts to find
information. They make relevant observations and measure quantities, such as length or mass, using
a range of simple equipment. Where appropriate, they carry out a fair test with some help, recognising
and explaining why it is fair. They record their observations in a variety of ways. They provide explanations
for observations and for simple patterns in recorded measurements. They communicate in a scientific
way what they have found out and suggest improvements in their work.
Level 4
Pupils recognise that scientific ideas are based on evidence. In their own investigative work, they decide
on an appropriate approach [for example, using a fair test] to answer a question.  Where appropriate,
they describe, or show in the way they perform their task, how to vary one factor while keeping others
the same. Where appropriate, they make predictions. They select information from sources provided
for them. They select suitable equipment and make a series of observations and measurements that are
adequate for the task. They record their observations, comparisons and measurements using tables and
bar charts. They begin to plot points to form simple graphs, and use these graphs to point out and
interpret patterns in their data. They begin to relate their conclusions to these patterns and to scientific
knowledge and understanding, and to communicate them with appropriate scientific language. They
suggest improvements in their work, giving reasons.
Level 5
Pupils describe how experimental evidence and creative thinking have been combined to provide
a scientific explanation [for example, Jenner’s work on vaccination at key stage 2, Lavoisier’s work
on burning at key stage 3].When they try to answer a scientific question, they identify an appropriate
approach. They select from a range of sources of information.  When the investigation involves a fair test,
they identify key factors to be considered.  Where appropriate, they make predictions based on their
scientific knowledge and understanding. They select apparatus for a range of tasks and plan to use it
effectively. They make a series of observations, comparisons or measurements with precision appropriate
to the task. They begin to repeat observations and measurements and to offer simple explanations for
any differences they encounter. They record observations and measurements systematically and, where
appropriate, present data as line graphs. They draw conclusions that are consistent with the evidence and
begin to relate these to scientific knowledge and understanding. They make practical suggestions about
how their working methods could be improved. They use appropriate scientific language and
conventions to communicate quantitative and qualitative data.

Attainment target 2: life processes and living things
Level 1
Pupils recognise and name external parts of the body [for example, head, arm] and of plants [for example,
leaf, flower]. They communicate observations of a range of animals and plants in terms of features
[for example, colour of coat, size of leaf]. They recognise and identify a range of common animals
[for example, fly, goldfish, robin].
Level 2
Pupils use their knowledge about living things to describe the basic conditions [for example, a supply
of food, water, air, light] that animals and plants need in order to survive. They recognise that living
things grow and reproduce. They sort living things into groups, using simple features. They describe
the basis for their groupings [for example, number of legs, shape of leaf]. They recognise that different
living things are found in different places [for example, ponds, woods].
Level 3
Pupils use their knowledge and understanding of basic life processes [for example, growth, reproduction]
when they describe differences between living and non-living things. They provide simple explanations
for changes in living things [for example, diet affecting the health of humans or other animals, lack of
light or water altering plant growth]. They identify ways in which an animal is suited to its environment
[for example, a fish having fins to help it swim].
Level 4
Pupils demonstrate knowledge and understanding of life processes and living things drawn from the key
stage 2 or key stage 3 programme of study. They use scientific names for some major organs of body
systems [for example, the heart at key stage 2, the stomach at key stage 3] and identify the position of
these organs in the human body. They identify organs [for example, stamen at key stage 2, stigma, root
hairs at key stage 3] of different plants they observe. They use keys based on observable external features
to help them to identify and group living things systematically. They recognise that feeding relationships
exist between plants and animals in a habitat, and describe these relationships using food chains and
terms [for example, predator and prey].
Level 5
Pupils demonstrate an increasing knowledge and understanding of life processes and living things
drawn from the key stage 2 or key stage 3 programme of study. They describe the main functions of
organs of the human body [for example, the heart at key stage 2, stomach at key stage 3], and of the
plant [for example, the stamen at key stage 2, root hairs at key stage 3]. They explain how these
functions are essential to the organism. They describe the main stages of the life cycles of humans and
flowering plants and point out similarities. They recognise that there is a great variety of living things and
understand the importance of classification. They explain that different organisms are found in different
habitats because of differences in environmental factors [for example, the availability of light or water].

Attainment target 3: materials and their properties
Level 1
Pupils know about a range of properties [for example, texture, appearance] and communicate observations
of materials in terms of these properties.
Level 2
Pupils identify a range of common materials and know about some of their properties. They describe
similarities and differences between materials. They sort materials into groups and describe the basis for
their groupings in everyday terms [for example, shininess, hardness, smoothness]. They describe ways in
which some materials are changed by heating or cooling or by processes such as bending or stretching.
Level 3
Pupils use their knowledge and understanding of materials when they describe a variety of ways of
sorting them into groups according to their properties. They explain simply why some materials are
particularly suitable for specific purposes [for example, glass for windows, copper for electrical cables].
They recognise that some changes [for example, the freezing of water] can be reversed and some [for
example, the baking of clay] cannot, and they classify changes in this way.
Level 4
Pupils demonstrate knowledge and understanding of materials and their properties drawn from the key
stage 2 or key stage 3 programme of study. They describe differences between the properties of different
materials and explain how these differences are used to classify substances [for example, as solids, liquids,
gases at key stage 2, as acids,  alkalies at key stage 3]. They describe some methods [for example, filtration,
distillation] that are used to separate simple mixtures. They use scientific terms [for example, evaporation,
condensation] to describe changes. They use knowledge about some reversible and irreversible changes
to make simple predictions about whether other changes are reversible or not.
Level 5
Pupils demonstrate an increasing knowledge and understanding of materials and their properties drawn
from the key stage 2 or key stage 3 programme of study. They describe some metallic properties [for
example, good electrical conductivity] and use these properties to distinguish metals from other solids.
They identify a range of contexts in which changes [for example, evaporation, condensation] take place.
They use knowledge about how a specific mixture [for example, salt and water, sand and water] can be
separated to suggest ways in which other similar mixtures might be separated.
Attainment target 4: physical processes
Level 1
Pupils communicate observations of changes in light, sound or movement that result from actions
[for example, switching on a simple electrical circuit, pushing and pulling objects]. They recognise
that sound and light come from a variety of sources and name some of these.
Level 2
Pupils know about a range of physical phenomena and recognise and describe similarities and
differences associated with them. They compare the way in which devices [for example, bulbs] work
in different electrical circuits. They compare the brightness or colour of lights, and the loudness
or pitch of sounds. They compare the movement of different objects in terms of speed or direction.
Level 3
Pupils use their knowledge and understanding of physical phenomena to link cause and effect in simple
explanations [for example, a bulb failing to light because of a break in an electrical circuit, the direction
or speed of movement of an object changing because of a push or a pull]. They begin to make simple
generalisations about physical phenomena [for example, explaining that sounds they hear become fainter
the further they are from the source].
Level 4
Pupils demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical processes drawn from the key stage 2 or
key stage 3 programme of study. They describe and explain physical phenomena [for example, how a
particular device may be connected to work in an electrical circuit, how the apparent position of the Sun
changes over the course of a day]. They make generalisations about physical phenomena [for example,
motion is affected by forces, including gravitational attraction, magnetic attraction and friction]. They
use physical ideas to explain simple phenomena [for example, the formation of shadows, sounds being
heard through a variety of materials].

Level 5
Pupils demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical processes drawn from the key stage 2 or
key stage 3 programme of study. They use ideas to explain how to make a range of changes [for
example, altering the current in a circuit, altering the pitch or loudness of a sound]. They use some
abstract ideas in descriptions of familiar phenomena [for example, objects are seen when light from
them enters the eye at key stage 2, forces are balanced when an object is stationary at key stage 3]. They
use simple models to explain effects that are caused by the movement of the Earth [for example, the length
of a day or year].