“We want to see the positive impact it will have on the environment,” said one of the pupils helping to create a special pond in their school grounds.

Featherstone High in Southall was the winner of a recent Big Green Ideas competition for local schools run by the Green School Network – a collaboration between community climate group ActForEaling, and Ealing Council.

As the winner, Featherstone was awarded £1,000 in prize money to help make its pupils’ idea for a biodiversity, carbon-capture pond become reality.

Work began in the spring to dig-out the hole for the pond, plant some tree saplings donated by the Woodland Trust, and start to create paths.

Further support came from Southall Community Alliance, Southall Transition, Berkeley Homes and other community organisations, as pupils and staff got stuck in on the project.

In particular, a group of 6 student representatives have been heavily involved from the start, along with a group of enthusiastic Year 7 pupils.

Soniya Malhotra, one of the Year 10 pupils who helped to come up with the idea for a pond, said: “Ponds are a great place to encourage biodiversity. We are looking forwards to using it for carbon capture and other types of learning.”

‘A great space for learning’

Year 11 student Jess Fernandes added: “I’ve really enjoyed working on this project. It’s going to be a great space to come and enjoy nature and spend time away from technology.”

Alexandra Thompson, the school’s project co-ordinator, said: “The students have put so much work into this project, and we have been very fortunate with the support we have had from local groups too. It’s really taking shape now and, once finished, it will become an outdoor classroom for our pupils to learn about growing, nature and the environment. It’s a great place to encourage positive mental health and well-being too, because a lot of our students don’t have outside space that they can easily access.”

Featherstone’s team will be sharing the knowledge they gain with other schools via the Green School Network and report on the progress of the project.

Councillor Paul Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “The climate crisis is something that will affect all of us and it is so heartwarming to see children looking to be part of the solution, supported by their schools.

“The Big Green Ideas competition had some fantastic plans put forward, but Featherstone was a worthy winner. The pupils were passionate about improving their school grounds and helping the environment. They had carefully considered how they were going to measure and monitor the carbon absorbed by the pond and I look forward to seeing it flourish.”