Transforming Telford

A renowned botanist and environmental campaigner will be planting a tree at a Telford school as the first step to creating a nursery garden.

David Bellamy OBE, also a celebrated author and television personality, will be at William Reynolds Infant School in Westbourne, Woodside, on August 30 to mark the start of the school’s environmental project.

The nursery garden initiative will see a grassed area outside the school hall turned into a kitchen garden, growing both flowers and vegetables. A wildlife area will be created to attract birds and butterflies while a small grassed area with benches and planters and a sensory garden will visually enhance the area and stimulate children’s learning.

Organisations including local landlord the Wrekin Housing Trust and Transforming Telford, which is leading the regeneration of Woodside, are all backing this environmental project. , Local companies Ricoh, Fujitsu and HSBC are giving their time through the Business in the Community’s employee volunteering programme, Cares.  Cares aims to change the whole culture of volunteering by giving busy people the chance to make a difference in their local communities, through the support of their employers.

The nursery garden project follows on from the school’s recent very successful OFSTED inspection which cited the school’s outstanding curriculum provision. It said: “The curriculum helps to ensure that pupils develop an appreciation of the world around them and that they understand how to keep healthy and safe.” The school hopes that this project will help to maintain and extend the hard work that has already been established.

Acting Assistant Headteacher Hayley Lakin said: “The work will provide both a safe and stimulating environment for the children that will enrich their experience and allow them to develop their creativity. We hope that this area will become sustainable and future generations of children will benefit from the project.”

David Bellamy will visit the school between 11am and 12pm to plant a tree and see the plans.

Jenny Evans, a Woodside resident who sits on the Wrekin Housing Trust’s tenants panel and who had the original idea said: “Green spaces are really important in our community and it is great that the school is improving the outdoor area, attracting wildlife and helping children learn about the environment at the same time.

“The regeneration of Woodside is a community effort and this project shows how lots of organisations can work together.”
 
ENDS
 
Notes to editors:

• Media are invited to photograph David Bellamy at 11am on Thursday, August 30.

• For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Jo Cunningham on 07815 913887 or info@jocunningham.co.uk or Will Schofield at Transforming Telford on 01952 567567. A representative from the school may be contacted during mornings on 01952 388260.

• The 10-year Woodside regeneration project aims to breathe new life into the physical and social environment of the south Telford area. It is being delivered by a partnership of agencies, led by Transforming Telford for Telford & Wrekin Council. It includes national regeneration agency English Partnerships, The Wrekin Housing Trust, Advantage West Midlands, Government Office of the West Midlands and The Housing Corporation.