Year 1 pupils from Damers First School collected wildflower seeds from Poundbury Hillfort to sow in their own wildflower meadow, on the Great Field in Poundbury.

The children went on a series of wildflower seed collecting expeditions to Poundbury Hillfort, led by Poundbury Nature Project creator Miles King, from the charity People Need Nature. 

The three trips took place during the hottest June ever recorded in England. The children learnt about different kinds of wildflowers and what they need to flourish, including the cattle which graze on the chalk downland of the Hillfort banks.

The children crushed and smelt the cucumber aroma of salad burnet, and learnt that buttercup flowers not only tell them whether they like butter, but also form tiny pineapples when their seeds develop, which the children avidly collected.

On the way back to school, the children sowed the seeds they had collected into an area that had earlier been cleared to prepare the ground to create the Damers School Wildflower Meadow, on The Great Field, next to the school.

Some of the children broadcast the seed, while others carefully sowed their seeds and covered them with soil.

Damers School places nature at the heart of the children's learning, so the wildflower meadow will become a treasured area which the children will return to, where lessons can be held, and which will become a valued place for the children who have helped to create it, for the rest of their lives. 

Damers Year 1 teacher Lisa Keys said: "The children loved their expedition to Poundbury Hillfort and learnt about different wild flowers, butterflies and bees; and how they all depend on the cows grazing.

"We'll be back in September to see how the new Damers Wildflower Meadow is growing." 

Miles King from People Need Nature added: "It was a privilege to be able to take the children to the hillfort and they were very excited to learn about the different wild flowers and the wildlife that depends on them, as well as enjoying running up and down the banks."

The Damers Wildflower Meadow forms part of the larger Poundbury Nature Project.