The current decline in the popularity of science at school has
resulted in many current activities to encourage and enthuse children in these
subjects. One such initiative has been born from a partnership between the
Natural History Museum, London, and the Cothill Educational Trust, which
aims to engage children in current biodiversity science. This project, named
Tree School, combines traditional methods used in botanical taxonomy with
new research activities using DNA barcoding to investigate local biodiversity,
and the applications of these techniques on a larger scale. The challenges
faced and potential opportunities realised have been investigated with a
series of pilot workshops, in preparation for the two-year operational phase
in 2011-12.
