OAK Multi Academy Trust is delighted to announce that we will be working with the National Education Nature Park as a pilot project in the East Midlands region during the 2026/27 academic year.
The National Education Nature Park is a free, nationwide initiative in England designed to empower children and young people to combat biodiversity loss and connect with the natural world by transforming their school, nursery, and college grounds into thriving green spaces.
The partnership will enable the regional team to research and identify biodiversity improvements in educational settings – both in the physical setting and the curriculum – and how much can be achieved with the right support.
Trust Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson said, “At Oak Multi Academy Trust, we are deeply committed to educating our pupils about environmental concerns and the importance of sustainable living, so we are thrilled to have this support.
“Being chosen by the Nature Park programme as a pilot project for the East Midlands region is recognition of our commitment to sustainability across the Trust.
“This partnership offers a transformative opportunity to integrate nature-based learning into our curriculum, with an ambitious goal of supporting biodiversity improvements across our school sites.”
Commissioned by the UK Department for Education (DfE) as a key pillar of its Climate Change Strategy, the programme is led by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The programme provides a structured approach to implementing environmental education and empowering young people to increase biodiversity across England.
The Trust’s work with the National Education Nature Park will form part of its schools’ Climate Action Plans, a key initiative of the Department for Education’s sustainability and climate change strategy, which envisions the UK education sector as a leader in sustainability and climate change by 2030. Climate Action Plans cover areas such as decarbonisation, climate resilience, biodiversity, and climate education.
This strategic vision underscores the critical role schools play in achieving environmental sustainability, emphasising a whole-school approach that encompasses all aspects of school life, learning, and management.
For more information about OAK, visit https://www.oaktrust.org/