Teaching Urban Nature at Key Stage 2 in England: looking at what is there,not at what ecologists say should be there

In this paper it is argued that teachers in England at Key Stage 2 (KS2), i.e. teachers of pupils of 7‐11‐years‐old, have been influenced by Urban Wildlife Groups (UWGs), amongst others, in relation to what they teach in urban nature. The research presented shows that teachers have selected ideas from a set of traditional ecological values, theories and practices, originally developed for rural, not urban environments. The distinction between ‘native’ and ‘alien’ plant species and the utility of each to wildlife is a key yet contested concept, which can have pejorative and racist overtones. Some teachers may not be aware of this. From this research platform, an alternative contextual and theoretical approach is presented using the entity of the Multicultural City Ecosystem and the process of multicultural ecology. It provides a framework for thought and practical reflection amongst education officers in UWGs, curriculum planners and teachers. It accepts both historical and contemporary human induced plant movements as inevitable in a trading nation, especially to our ports and cities. In so doing, it provides curriculum planners and teachers with an approach to urban nature at KS2 which is based upon an analysis of real events, historical (and prehistoric), contemporary and future. In essence, its focus is on what is there and why it is there, not on mythological and arcadian notions ie what urban ecologists say should be there.