Pupils at Bottisham Village College recently put their biodiversity knowledge to the test after becoming the first to participate in ‘Eco Buddies’, a new, free educational programme by affordable housebuilder, Orbit Homes.

Eco Buddies aims to support pupils with their understanding of nature, why it’s important and what they can do to promote greater biodiversity around school and at home.

During the session, Orbit Homes colleagues worked with the pupils to build and decorate their own bird boxes and share the important role that plants and animals play in keeping our planet healthy.

Pupils also learnt about how Orbit Homes works to create sustainable communities by incorporating eco-friendly features into its homes and developments, such as hedgehog highways and bug hotels.

Sarah Price, Regional Marketing Manager at Orbit Homes, commented: “At Orbit Homes we’re passionate about maximising our positive social and environmental impacts, particularly within the communities in which we build, so we were delighted to host our first Eco Buddies session with Bottisham Village College.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to help drive positive change for future generations by sharing ideas around biodiversity and supporting the children in thinking about how they can make their own positive impact on the environment. All the pupils did a brilliant job so we’d like to thank the school for having us.”

Faith Huggins, a teacher at Bottisham Village College, added: “Our pupils are very passionate about environmental responsibility, and we have our own student Eco Club, so this was a brilliant opportunity for the children to learn more about biodiversity. The pupils really enjoyed themselves today and the bird box activity was a great way to get them involved in biodiversity. Thanks to Orbit Homes for inspiring our ‘Eco Buddies’ and for joining us to create these lovely additions to our school grounds.”

Eco Buddies is designed to support students in understanding the importance of nature and how all living things are connected. Free classroom resources are available for schools to download at orbithomes.org.uk/eco-buddies.

Eco Buddies joins Building Buddies, Orbit Homes’ educational programme which allows primary school children to experience hands-on visits to construction sites, learn the different processes involved in building a brand-new home and how the skills they learn in Maths and English are used day to day in different jobs. Find out more about ‘Building Buddies’ at orbithomes.org.uk/about-orbit/building-buddies.