Children at Little Otters nursery at Dolton C of E Primary School were awarded their RSPB gold award recently after a year of work helping local wildlife.

Little Otters started working towards the Wild Challenge, an RSPB-organised award scheme to get children out into nature and helping wildlife, in spring last year.

Since then they have helped to improve the environment for animals and plants living in the school grounds and took on the wildlife trust’s Hedgehog Walk challenge.

Headteacher Samantha Drew, said: “It has been wonderful to see how much curiosity and engagement the children have shown with the activities.

“I am delighted that Little Otters have achieved this amazing award and been recognised for their motivation, care and commitment to supporting the development of our outdoor areas and looking after the wildlife and their habitats.”

As part of the work, the children created a wildlife pond, bug hotel, log pile, wildflower area and homes for visiting birds in the school grounds and were visited by a local hedgehog expert to learn more about the animals.

Little Otters then completed the 3km Hedgehog Walk – the same distance a hedgehog can travel in a single night, looking for food – raising £100 for the wildlife trust together with the school’s Key Stage 1 class (ages five to seven).