English Bicknor Primary School Wins Garden
Junior-year pupils at English Bicknor Primary School are celebrating having won the Forest of Dean District Council’s competition to design a wildlife garden. Their prize is to have the garden recreated in the school grounds.
All Forest primary schools were invited to take part in the competition which was launched by the Council’s waste team to coincide with national Compost Awareness Week earlier this year and which was sponsored by Coinros Nursery.
This week Year-6 children were invited to visit Coinros’ nursery at Clements End near Coleford to choose some of the plants to be used in the new garden with the help of owners Jean and Frank Johnson.
Teacher Hayley Alliston, who worked with the pupils on their entry, commented: ‘All the children are very excited to have their very own wildlife garden. The school was a runner up last year and it is fantastic that this year we have won. The garden is just part of our plans to develop our outside play areas and we are all looking forward to enjoying the new garden shortly.’
Councillor Martin Quaile, portfolio holder for the environment at the Forest of Dean District Council, added: ‘The judges were very impressed with the winning entry. The children had clearly spent a lot of time identifying different plants which would attract insects and how everyday items could be reused in their design to offer habitats for other forms of wildlife.’
‘It is important that our younger generations are encouraged to get to grips with environmental issues and that they can experience first-hand the benefits of home composting, gardening and growing their own produce.’
‘Home composting not only diverts waste away from landfill sites but also helps reduce the emission of methane, a very serious climate change gas, which is produced when organic material is buried.’
As well as having the opportunity to enter the competition, schools were also able to benefit from free compost bins and wormeries provided by Gloucestershire County Council.
Pupils from Drybrook and Ellwood primary schools each received runner up prizes.
1 August 2011