Wildflowers photographed from a low angle looking up to the sun

Wildflowers in Schools

Create space for nature, and for nature-connected learning, by planting wildflowers.

Wildflowers are a great way to bring colour and interest to your school grounds, and taking education outside is good for your learners, and for the planet. Use our resources to create and make the most of these special habitats using science, creativity and celebration.

How to grow wildflowers

Every space counts. Whether it’s a field sized meadow, flower bed or container, making room for wildflowers wherever you can will make difference to local pollinators and provide a rich environment for learning and creativity.

Cornfield annual wildflowers are the fastest declining wildflowers in the UK, due to changes in agriculture and pressure from development. Some are almost extinct in the wild. This has had serious consequences for wildlife as wildflowers provide food for a range of insects including bees and butterflies.

A young girl standing looking excited in-between a large array of wild flowers

Wildflowers are good for people too and we need more chances to connect with this incredible natural heritage. Taking learning outdoors can positively impact children’s learning, health and wellbeing and social skills, and enhance their connection to nature.

Grow wildflowers

How to grow wildflowers in your school

An easy step-by-step guide to turning your seeds into an incredible floral display.

Find out how

Pupils from Clepington Primary sow wildflower seeds. Credit Chris Scott Photography Dundee

Wildflower Planting Guide

Our beautiful Wildflower Planting Guide is free for you to download and use as a learning resource. We’ve designed them to look good as part of a display as well as helping to label your planting areas.

Download guide

Lostwithiel Primary School DfE Wildflowers

Wildflower Sowing and Growing Calendar

Use Eden's 'Wildflower Sowing and Growing Calendar' to guide you and your class through the process of growing wildflowers at your school. Whether you sow your seeds in the Autumn or in the Spring, this handy visual will provide you with the knowledge that you need to successfully create a wildflower area in your school.

Download the calendar

Grow learning

Lesson plan: Bloom or Doom - The Seedling Game

Designed for KS1 and 2, this is a fun and active way to reinforce students’ understanding of seeds and germination.

Wild flower growing. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Lesson plan: Sow for Success

Suitable for KS2, this is a history lesson, focusing on the role that the Second World War played in the loss of Britain's wildflower meadows.

Growing Wildflowers - From Seed to Seeds. Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

Lesson plan: Growing Wildflowers - From Seed to Seeds

This series of KS1 science lessons, focuses on the importance of wildflowers, sowing wildflower seeds and observing them grow.

Lesson plan: Brilliant Bees – The Pollination Story

A single science lesson, suitable for KS1 and 2, focusing on the role that pollinators play in the process of reproduction in plants. This lesson also explores the impacts (both positive and negative) of human actions on a specific environment.

Bee on flower in front of giant bee sculpture

Create a Buzz guide to pollinating insects

Read our guide to pollinating insects, which enable plants in our farms, gardens and countryside to bear fruit and flourish.

What is pollination? – a resource for kids

Pollination is a very important part of the life cycle of plants. Insects, birds, bats and the wind take pollen between flowering plants, which means the plants can make seeds and reproduce (have babies!). Check out our video and pictures to find out how.

Another group of children crouched down in grass examining plants

Paradise Pastures: Work Scientifically to Investigate the Incredible Biodiversity Hidden in your School Grounds

This series of KS2 lessons uses the Eden Project’s Story-Inspired Learning approach to connect children with the biodiversity in their own school grounds and develop their understanding of the nature and process of scientific enquiry.

How to build an insect home

Learn how to build your very own insect hotel out of recycled items and natural materials from your garden.

Sing about wildflowers

Grow your skills

Leaders in Outdoor Learning

If you are a teacher that dreams of getting outside more with your class – in a vibrant school grounds full of inspiration and creativity – and bringing the benefits of nature back into your classroom, then this is the course for you.

Find out more

Young children in a field looking at a dandelion

Be part of our growing movement

Sign up to our schools newsletter to hear more about our Wildflowers in Schools programme, which will offer free resources and advice, live from September 2023.

About this project

In Summer 2023 the DfE, in partnership with the Eden Project, distributed wildflower seeds to thousands of schools as part of the King’s Coronation celebrations.

Wildflowers in Schools