In 2007 a group of A Level photography students from Hind Leys Community College in Shepshed were part of a natural history project organised by CHI. Following on from their involvement in the CHI Wildly Wicked Photography Competition, the group were keen to do more photography with a natural history theme.

The first stage of the project was a visit to the Outwoods in Charnwood with media personality Colin Green. The nature walk encouraged the students to look at things in a different way and helped give them a new perspective not only on the natural environment around them but also on their photography.

A visit to Leicestershire County Council’s Collection Resources Centre at Barrow upon Soar was also organised. The Centre offers unique behind the scenes access to the County Council's museum collections. The students learnt about the natural history collections stored there and the challenges in photographing them. The visit provided the group with the opportunity to practice macro photography and introduced them to new techniques including digital micro-photography - attaching cameras to microscopes to photograph specimens.

The project proved to be a success providing ‘something different’ and enabling the young people to learn new photography techniques and discover more about the natural history of their area.

A selection of the images were produced as an exhbition and in conjunction with Charnwood Arts were displayed at Loughborough Town Hall.

The group were asked what they had learnt through being involved in the project: