EcoHub

In September 2022, we were very excited to open our school’s EcoHub. The overriding aim of this new space in our school building was to promote the idea that ecology and natural diversity start at home. There are two learning spaces in the EcoHub: an indoor classroom space and an outdoor classroom, both large enough for 32 students. The outdoor learning space is surrounded by natural, native wildlife and a pond, encouraging students to experience the richness of local animal and plant species. In addition to the natural environment we are now lucky enough to have two bee hives as part of the Ecohub space with resident staff trained beekeepers. The bees have produced their first lot of honey and we are very much hoping for greater honey supplies in the future. The introduction of the bees was to further enhance students' understanding of bees as keystone species and their significant role in pollination. 

The EcoHub has been created not only for Ruislip High School students, but also as a resource for other local schools and the wider community. The Ecohub aims to be a cross-curricular space that is used by a multitude of departments. We have also invited local schools in the area to use the facility and have produced bespoke learning experiences for them. Our hope is that students will be taken beyond the curriculum with a range of exciting new ventures in the space. So far, this has included the introduction of clubs that cover responsible pet care and sustainability, an ecoclub, allotment growing and the very popular animal club. Last year we ran a cultural capital day with the theme of our environment and protecting it where year 7 students did a variety of activities including learning about; marine conservation, beekeeping, animal handling, how to sample mini beasts, environmental waste and plastics and the role of zoos in conservation.  In the future, we plan to continue to extend the EcoHub’s work by building bat and owl boxes and setting up night vision camera ecology.

RHS is also extremely lucky to have close links with Mankwe Wildlife Reserve in South Africa. We run a biannual trip to the reserve including August 2022 and August 2024. The next trip will be August 2026. On the trips students are able to participate in activities including; sampling of invertebrate species, identifying larger mammals, vegetation surveys, creating firebreaks, jeep and walking safaris and a rhino conservation talk. We consider the South Africa trip to offer students so much more than further enhancing their scientific understanding and it also develops many soft skills which will benefit them in their further studies and the workplace. 

The Sixth Form leadership team are fundraising for Mankwe to build new kennels and training equipment for the Rhino Protection Unit. So far they have raised over £1000.