Rotherham primary school spearheading green revolution that could spread across the nation and overseas

Twelve months ago, Anston Greenlands head teacher Alex Wirth launched a 'rewilding' initiative encouraging schools to help the environment by restoring nature back to its basic form and creating homes for wildlife.

The 200 pupils at Edinburgh Drive, North Anston, had already embraced the idea, having planted 60 trees as well as sewing wildflower seeds in uncut grassy areas.

Twenty Rotherham schools have now joined in the endeavour. Sheffield's Prince Edward School has expressed an interest in doing the same.

Every little helps in the fight against climate change and the mission could soon be reaching further across South Yorkshire and far beyond.

News of the initiative has also spread through an educational platform serving hundreds of thousands of children worldwide.

Mr Wirth developed the bold plan partly by convincing other educators that football and other recreational areas would remain untouched.

He explained: "A couple of years ago I read the David Attenborough book: 'A Life on Our Planet' and it was mind-altering. "I was already interested in the environment but this was a catalyst for me and I wanted to know what I could do."

As a teacher, he was in an "advantageous position" to spread the word about ecological restoration to children, he said, adding they could then preach the benefits to their parents.

Mr Wirth, aged 42, then spread the word across other schools across the Rotherham borough, by launching the 'Rewilding Award for Rotherham schools' programme, in which awards are given for allocating percentages of their green spaces to grow wild.

Mr Wirth was recently invited to present details of his project to 10,000 education delegates at an online World Education Summit.

"It is incredibly exciting to see how all this is developing" he said.

"We sell the idea to other schools on the basis that it is free and a very good thing to do!

"We give awards for schools who ensure a specific proportion of their green space is re-wilded.

"Getting 20 schools on board is a lot more than I expected, I'd have been happy with five or six, and now we are in the process of speaking to bigger trusts, too, including one in Aston.

"There is a national lottery fund - which is notoriously difficult to be successful with - but we are looking at making a bid to them so we can  spread this work further."

Mr Wirth, who lives in Thorpe Hesley, is delighted by the support from his children at the aptly named Greenlands.

"One of our children told a visitor from the Children's Capital of Culture organisation that one school doing this wasn't enough, re-wilding had to involve all over Rotherham and another child said it has to be all of the world!

"Climate change is part of the curriculum and they seem very well versed in it...they will chew your ear off about how we need to make changes to the way we live.

"In many ways our area is a trendsetter in giving out that message."