Birmingham Museums are delighted to take part in The Wild Escape, connecting school children and families with the fantastic wildlife at Weoley Castle Ruins.

A green oasis in the heart of an expansive housing estate housing estate, the Ruins seen today are believed to date back as far as 1270, making it one of the oldest buildings still visible in Birmingham and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The site is home to a wide array of wildlife including badgers, foxes, buzzards and squirrels.

We are working with Year 3 from Paganel Primary School to make patterned ceramic tiles inspired by the wildlife at the site. Weoley is well known for its Medieval floor tiles with several on display at the site, as well as a replica panel.

“We are really proud of our Year 3 children being selected to be involved in this project. It is an amazing opportunity for our children to further develop their understanding of the historic wonders of our local community.”

Bethan Gingell, Head Teacher, Paganel Primary School.

The classes will take part in a special workshop at Weoley Castle Ruins with local pottery studio Fire Formed to collect ideas and inspiration, followed by a tile making workshop back at their school.

The best creations from the classes will have their work featured in a new display at the site for visitors to experience.

Join us as the project finishes with an event for Earth Day, Saturday 22^nd April. Featuring live animals, craft activities and a chance to make your own clay tile, our Earth Day event is an opportunity to connect with the wildlife on your doorstep.

Birmingham Museums is committed to combatting Climate Change as outlined in our Climate Change Policy. We aim to lead by example. Through our public programmes we’ve begun to inspire and support our visitors to make choices to increase their positive impact on the environment. The Wild Escape project furthers this ambition.