Begin by introducing your pupils to the first verse of the famous poem by William Wordsworth, ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ (Slide 2). Have they heard this before? Do they know what Wordsworth is describing? Take the time necessary to unpick the verse to make sure that you class understands what Wordsworth is describing.
Explain to the pupils that since the time that this poem was written, the ‘host of golden daffodils’ that Wordsworth is describing (along with many of other species of native wildflowers) are a far less common sight in the British countryside. Can they think why this might be? What sights do they most commonly associate with the countryside?
Explain to the class that the number of wildflowers seen across the British countryside has actually been in decline since the time of the Second World War!
Use Slide 3 to introduce pupils to the Learning Outcomes for the session:
- Understand the cause and effect of changes to the British countryside, brought about by WW2.
- Describe the link between wildflowers, pollinators and food.
- Explain how sowing wildflowers can contribute to the health and well-being of UK habitats and help to ensure food security for the future.
Provide the pupils with more detail about the decline of wildflowers in Britain. Use Slide 4 to give a brief history of wildflowers in Britain since 1930:
- In 1930, natural wildflower meadows could be seen across the British countryside. There were over 7.5 million acres of wildflower meadows across the nation. That’s about the same size as 3,750,000 football pitches!
- During the Second World War (1939-1945) over 6 million acres of grassland (approximately 3 million football pitches) was ploughed to grow cereals and vegetables.
- Over the 40 years that followed, 97% of the wild flower meadows, that were once a common sight across the country were destroyed.
- Today, wildflower meadows account for less than 1% of the British countryside.
Pose the question: So, why did WW2 cause the destruction of Wildflower meadows?
Use the following four slides (Slide 5, 6, 7 and 8) to introduce pupils to some of the significant factors and initiatives that ultimately contributed to the acceleration of agricultural practices that destroyed nearly all of Britain’s wildflowers:
1. Food shortages
The start of World War II in 1939 led to a huge food security issue in Britain. People struggling to get hold of the foods that they were used to eating and, in turn, were struggling to feed their families.
Just like today, much of the food consumed in Britain before the war, was produced overseas and imported (on ships) to this country. When the Second World War started the ships carrying these supplies became vulnerable to enemy attack. So, far less food was reaching Britain’s ports and shops.
Furthermore, to fight the war, military hardware was being shipped to Britain as well and so there was less shipping capacity available for food.
2. Rationing
In January 1940, the British government introduced food rationing. The scheme was designed to ensure fair shares of those foods which were in short supply due to the war. Rationing was overseen by the Ministry of Food which issued every man, woman and child a ration book with coupons. These restricted how much of each rationed food could be purchased each week.
Basic foodstuffs such as sugar, meat, fats (like butter and margarine), bacon and cheese were rationed by the coupons in the ration book.
Some foods such as fish or sausages were not rationed but could be in short supply which led to long hours of queuing, and sometimes disappointment when upon reaching the front of the queue it was only to discover that what you were queuing for had sold out.
3. Dig for Victory
To help with food shortages, The Ministry of Agriculture also introduced the Dig for Victory campaign. This encouraged people to use any available space that they could find to grow food to help feed themselves and their communities during the war effort.
Use the video from the Imperial War Museum website to introduce pupils to the Dig for Victory campaign. This is important for the Main Activity.
4. The Woman’s Land Army
As well as encouraging people to grow their own food, The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was formed in the summer of 1939. Women of all ages joined up, and were later conscripted, to help farm the British countryside.
By the end of the war, 80,000 land girls were working on farms across the UK.
These women undertook all aspects of farm work, including livestock handling, dairy, flax growing (for clothing), hedging, vegetable growing, ploughing and threshing.
Activity 1: Concept Map
Ask pupils to complete a concept map, linking key words associated to WW2 to show how they contributed to the loss of wildflowers in Britain.
Having consolidated your pupil’s understanding of the causes of wildflower meadow loss, that can be attributed to the Second World War, use Slide 10 to introduce your pupils to the importance of wildflowers, particularly in relation to protecting pollinators and food security. Pupils could carry out further research into this when completing the main activity.
Activity 2: Wildflower Food chains/Food Webs
Ask your pupils to cut out the cards provided and arrange them to make food chains or food webs that show the links between wildflowers and the foods that we eat. They can draw or add additional pictures if necessary.
For the final part of this section, use Slide 11 to introduce the children to their challenge and to the ‘Sow for Success’ campaign:
We want you to embark on a ‘Dig for Victory’ style campaign to encourage people within your community to find available areas to sow wild flowers. We are calling this ‘Sow for Success!
