Meet the Liverpool school children learning about the environment by helping to care for lambs

As far as school lessons go, learning how to feed seven hungry lambs - as well as looking after pygmy goats, alpacas, pigs, poultry and a range of small animals - doesn't sound too bad.

For youngsters at Woodchurch High School in Birkenhead, caring for animals has become part of the curriculum, as they swap the playground for the farm.

The initiative aims to provide pupils with a chance to learn about green issues and environment-friendly behaviour.

The farm at Woodchurch High School recently received over £21,000 from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Community Environment Fund - which exists to help try and make the region net zero carbon by 2040. When Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram recently visited to see how this money was being spent, he said:

''It's not just about the farm itself, it's about the kids, isn't it?

''And they're the important thing here, and they're going to go away with a much better understanding of the environment that they live in.

''I think what they bring is the enthusiasm. They're really into this, and that's great, because that will last with those kids for a lifetime.''

When the lambs are grown, some of them will go on to other rare breed or petting farms, and it's hoped the children will grow up having a new understanding of animals and the wider environment outside this built-up part of the region.