Barnes Common Ltd has supported Roehampton trainee teachers on the BA Primary QTS programme for the past eight years. Growing from a chance meeting, this regular partnership has become a highlight of our practice. Student teachers have visited the Common itself around Barnes station regularly (example here) and developed a deeper connection to a location which could so easily be overlooked. This website grew from a bid for funding from BigLondon in 2024.

The idea central to our previous projects of being nature connected. This website is to support local teachers. This is the first stage in a blue-green corridor toolkit.

Beverley Brook rises in Worcester Park and joins the River Thames to the north of the Putney Embankment at Barn Elms. It flows through various green spaces including this less well-known pocket of land managed by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames at Palewell Common. Barnes Common Limited, the university and other providers do not currently have any materials to support learning in this location, so we aim to develop the toolkit to fill this gap. 

Palewell Common is 12 Hectares and is a mile from the University and is close to at least four local primary schools who we know do not use it as part of their taught curriculum. There is untapped potential here as we can connect this to Anthony’s other work in Richmond Park with the Beverley Brook with The South East Rivers Trust, featured in recent Roehampton Partnership newsletters.

Starting with a focus fortnight, we worked alongside local teachers and generalist BA QTS Y2 student teachers to co-create materials, video tutorials, explainers and develop an online toolkit that can be shared more widely.

Teacher and pupil understanding of urban watercourses and the special nature of such connected green spaces is limited (Mackintosh, 2010). Our aim is to build a deeper sense of awareness of how nature thrives and survives in places like this – a key aim being that there could be places just like this near them, wherever they are teaching, too.