History · Year 2 · Our Local Heritage · Summer Term

Local Wildlife and Environment History

Investigating how the local natural environment and wildlife have changed over time due to human activity or natural processes.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Significant historical places in their own locality
• KS1: Geography - Local geography

About This Topic

This topic guides Year 2 students to explore changes in their local wildlife and environment over the past 100 years, blending History and Geography from the KS1 National Curriculum. Children start by surveying plants and animals in school grounds or nearby parks today, using simple observation sheets. They then compare findings with historical evidence such as old photographs, maps, oral histories from locals, or archive records from libraries. Key questions prompt reflection: what lives here now, how was it different before, and how can we protect it?

Students uncover influences from human actions like building houses, farming, or planting community gardens, as well as natural shifts from weather patterns or river courses. This develops skills in comparing sources, sequencing events, and recognising cause and effect, while building geographical knowledge of local features. It connects to the unit 'Our Local Heritage' by rooting history in familiar places.

Active learning excels for this topic because outdoor surveys and community interviews make time-based changes vivid and personal. Children handle real artefacts, map their area collaboratively, and role-play conservation decisions, which boosts engagement, critical thinking, and a sense of stewardship for their surroundings.

Key Questions

1. What animals and plants can you find in your local area today?
2. How might the local environment and wildlife have looked different 100 years ago?
3. What can we do to help look after and protect our local wildlife and green spaces?

Learning Objectives

• Compare photographs and maps of the local area from different time periods to identify changes in the environment.
• Explain how specific human activities, such as building or farming, have impacted local wildlife habitats.
• Classify local plants and animals observed today into categories like trees, flowers, birds, or insects.
• Propose at least two practical actions that can be taken to protect local green spaces and wildlife.

Before You Start

Observing and Describing Living Things

Why: Students need basic skills in observing and describing plants and animals before they can compare them across different time periods.

Identifying Local Features

Why: Understanding basic geographical features of their locality, like parks, rivers, or fields, is necessary to discuss environmental changes.

Key Vocabulary

habitat	The natural home or environment where a plant or animal lives, providing food, water, and shelter.
conservation	The protection and careful management of natural resources and wildlife to prevent them from being harmed or lost.
urbanisation	The process by which towns and cities grow, often leading to changes in the natural landscape and wildlife habitats.
biodiversity	The variety of plant and animal life in a particular habitat or the world, which can change over time.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

The local environment has always looked the same.

What to Teach Instead

Historical photos and maps reveal changes like lost meadows or new ponds. Field surveys let students compare sites directly, while timeline activities help them sequence evidence and grasp time passage through peer discussions.

Common Misconception

All environmental changes come from natural causes only.

What to Teach Instead

Evidence shows human roles, such as building roads or planting trees. Interviews with elders and model-building clarify distinctions, as active exploration prompts children to link actions to outcomes collaboratively.

Common Misconception

Lost wildlife can be quickly replaced anywhere.

What to Teach Instead

Habitats support specific species, so changes affect balance. Mapping activities and protection role-plays build understanding, with group debates reinforcing why local care matters through shared examples.

Active Learning Ideas

Field Survey: Local Wildlife Today

Lead a whole-class walk around school grounds or a nearby park. Provide clipboards, magnifying glasses, and checklists for students to sketch and note plants and animals. Return to class to sort findings into categories like trees, insects, and birds, then display on a shared map.

45 min·Whole Class

Timeline Build: Past Environments

In small groups, supply old and recent photos of the local area from libraries or online archives. Children sequence images on a large timeline strip, adding labels for changes like 'more houses' or 'fewer hedges'. Groups present to the class, explaining reasons for shifts.

35 min·Small Groups

Family Interviews: Elder Memories

Pairs prepare three simple questions about local wildlife 50-100 years ago, such as 'What animals did you see as a child?' They interview grandparents or neighbours, record responses with drawings or voice notes, then share in a class 'memory wall'.

30 min·Pairs

Habitat Model: Before and After

Small groups use trays with soil, toy animals, and craft materials to build models of the local area 100 years ago versus today. Discuss human impacts during construction, then vote on protection ideas to add to models.

40 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Local park rangers and conservation volunteers regularly survey wildlife populations and manage green spaces to ensure habitats are healthy for native species.
• Urban planners consider the impact of new housing developments on existing green areas and wildlife corridors, aiming to integrate nature into city design.
• Museum curators and local historians use old photographs, maps, and documents to research and display how towns and landscapes have changed over the last century.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Give students a card with a picture of a local landmark from 100 years ago and one from today. Ask them to write one sentence comparing the two and one sentence about how wildlife might have been affected.

Discussion Prompt

Show students a historical map of their local area. Ask: 'What do you notice that is different from our area today? What might have caused these changes? What animals or plants might have lived here then?'

Quick Check

As students observe plants and animals in the school grounds, ask them to point to one example and explain why it is important for that living thing to have a habitat. Listen for mentions of food, water, or shelter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to find historical evidence of local wildlife changes?

Visit local libraries, museums, or council archives for old photos, maps, and records. Online resources like Britain from Above offer aerial views, while community groups share oral histories. Guide students to compare these with current surveys, noting specifics like vanished hedgerows or introduced species for clear before-and-after contrasts.

What active learning activities work best for local environment history in Year 2?

Outdoor surveys, elder interviews, and hands-on timelines engage senses and make changes tangible. Children map schoolyards, build habitat models, and role-play conservation, fostering enquiry skills. These methods personalise history, encourage collaboration, and link abstract time concepts to real places, improving retention and motivation.

How does this topic connect History and Geography in KS1?

History focuses on changes in local places over time through evidence like photos, while Geography examines current features and human impacts. Combined activities, such as mapping past and present wildlife, develop both. This interdisciplinary approach builds spatial awareness and historical thinking, aligning with National Curriculum goals for locality studies.

How to teach protecting local wildlife in this unit?

After comparisons, have students brainstorm actions like planting natives or reducing litter via posters and pledges. Link to key questions with class votes on school initiatives. Real-world ties, such as park clean-ups, reinforce responsibility, helping children see their role in sustaining green spaces amid changes.