The Bauder green roof on Sharrow Primary School in Sheffield has been declared a Local Nature Reserve by Natural England. The school is the first green roof in the country to achieve this status and recognises the importance of the green roof both in attracting local wildlife and the education of the pupils at the school.- a fitting accolade for a school that defies traditional ideas of what a school should be.

Head teacher Lynne Ley said: "The staff and pupils really value the green roof and it’s a great resource to get children out of the classroom to learn about wildlife and our local environment. They also learn how important it is to look after the environment, not just on our doorstep, but worldwide."

Peter Nottage, Natural England’s Regional Director said “In our changing climate, we need to find new ways of supporting our wildlife and managing extreme weather - something that residents and businesses in Sheffield are only too aware of. This is a superb example of how we can also involve our future generations in looking after our environment.”

Restricted ground space opened up the opportunity to create green roofs at three levels for play space, 44m^² of outdoor classrooms and a 1200m^² biodiversity roof designed to replicate a meadow, complete with cornflowers and other urban plants. It is also a haven for birds and other kinds of wildlife, with rotting tree stumps provided for many kinds of insects. All of the roofs are used as a learning resource with curriculum-friendly uses for all the children.

Sharrow Primary is also now Sheffield's greenest school, with a heating system powered by warmth coming up from deep in the earth, toilets flushed by rainwater. The Bauder roof works on a technical level, sorting water run-off problems and assisting in the control of storm water, humidity, noise, heat and pollution. Additionally, the roofs incorporate a BREEAM A+ rated Bauder waterproofing system with 120mm of PIR insulation to achieve a U value of 0.2W/m^² constructed on a concrete deck.

All in all, the Sharrow School is a real testament to what can be achieved and is a landmark construction that raises the benchmark.