SHARROW CONSTRUCTION BUDDIES
Two very special friends who are responsible for letting us all know about the progress of the design and construction of the new primary school due for completion summer 2007. Latest postings are at the top. E-mail comments to brixandmorta@hotmail.co.uk
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Sharrow School's green roof is proving to be a haven for wildlife in Sheffield
Pupils and teachers at a Sheffield school have been celebrating after their roof was given special protection as a nature reserve.
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Parts of it have colonised naturally and trees have begun to appear.
Head teacher Lynne Ley said: "It's a great resource to get children out of the classroom to learn about wildlife."
The school's roof has become such an important wildlife haven in the city centre that conservation organisation Natural England, together with Sheffield City Council, decided it needed protection.
Special design
Ms Ley said children at the school got a lot out of the green roof.
She said: "They learn how important it is to look after the environment, not just on our doorstep but worldwide."
Designed to show the different sorts of habitats found around Sheffield, the roof is made from locally sourced and recycled material.
Peter Nottage, Natural England's regional director, said: "This is a superb example of how we can involve our future generations in looking after our environment."
There are several green roofs in England, with about 120 in Sheffield and Rotherham, but Sharrow School's is the first to be officially declared a Local Nature Reserve.
Sheffield City Council leader Paul Scriven said: "The Local Nature Reserve designation will protect the roof to ensure it remains a haven for birds and other kinds of wildlife."
Lynne talks to the interviewer from the local television news programme Calendar about how important green spaces like this are. She should know all about green things, Lynne is a Professor of Environmental Management at Sheffield Hallam University.
Lots of important people came to the media event with photographers, radio interviewers and television people Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed (Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Local Environment) talks with children from the school before his television interview.
WE were able to go along to the media event and meet all the important people...we even had our photo taken with some of our friends from school and Cath our Architect.
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By David Bocking
"Shutters and grills say keep out, but we want to say come in, not keep out."
The design of the building helps with behaviour too. The open classrooms and lack of corridors and the way everyone has to get along together has cut down on the traditional primary school squabbling in out of the way places.
"We never realised it would have so much impact," says Evelyn. "But everyone noticed that behaviour has improved."
And finally, the governors instisted on making the building sustainable for the future, so it was well insulated, a ground source heat pump was installed to provide heat and cooling from the temperature of the earth, and rainwater harvesting provides virtually all the water for the toilets.
"To start with, when we flush our toilets the water is yellow because the rainwater comes through the organic material on the roof, so the kids say 'Urgh, nobody's flushed the toilet.' But eventually that will be clearer."
That's the idea, says Lynne, but in the meantime all the kids are learning about sustainability by taking part in it themselves.
The roof itself is likely to be designated as an official local nature reserve: it's a 'biodiverse' rather than 'green' roof, and is designed to recreate the plants and insect life on the Sharrow ground.
As such, as well as helping alleviate flooding and cooling the summer classrooms, the roof is a boon for nature study covering wildflowers and insects.
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'We're off to another awards ceremony and big dinner (we'll have to start watching our waistlines soon)," said the bears recently before picking up the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' Design and Innovation award to add to the gongs and praises from the Sheffield Design Awards, the Society of Chief Architects of Local Authorities, the Royal Institute of British Architects and Architectural Ironmongery journal.
And the children have recognised the qualities of the building as much as RIBA.
"One nine year old came up to me and said it doesn't feel like a school," says Lynne, with some pride. "It feels like a college."