We are only just up the road from Birmingham so it is ideal for us. It is self-contained, it’s safe, the facilities are good and the staff are brilliant.

We can bring pupils here and they can get a really good grasp of biology.

They do the pond dipping which they all enjoy. They visit the herb garden where they look at the different herbs, plan a herb garden, draw herbs and look at variation of the different plants. The last activity is looking at the different conditions inside the greenhouses, so they look at plants from arid conditions and plants from the tropical and sub tropical regions.

They all have a booklet and when they go back they can follow up the work . They can discuss in lessons what adaptations they’ve seen and what they’ve learned.

You don’t see the kids in this environment very often where they can enjoy themselves. It is the hands-on experience of nature that they enjoy. They get a lot out of it.

On the map

Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3TR Tel: 0121 450 5093 www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk