4 July 2006

KINGSMEAD PUPILS DIG IN FOR SCHOOL GROUNDS SUCCESS

PUPILS from Kingsmead Primary School are celebrating the completion of a dramatic transformation of their new school's grounds - with the children's own hard work helping to make their dream school environment a reality.

The £3000 work at the 18-month old Kingsmead Primary, off Dukes Way, forms part of the School Grounds Development Programme co-ordinated by environmental organisation The Mersey Forest. The Programme is funded through the Cheshire Wildlife Trust by the Runcorn-based chemical manufacturer INEOS Chlor, using the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

"Two years ago when the new school was built the area was barren and uninteresting. With the children's help over the winter planting trees and hedgerows and helping to manage areas into summer, the grounds are now approaching a standard that is in keeping with the wonderful buildings that the school already has," explains Jo Sayers, The Mersey Forest's Community Development Officer.

"Using the raised beds that have been put in place, the pupils are growing their own vegetables which are now going into their school dinners, and the improvements have also included the planting of a willow coppice area, a school orchard, a mini woodland and 50 new trees to create shade around the grounds."

The work at the school has seen The Mersey Forest follow a 'holistic' approach to school grounds development that considers the social and environmental rewards that can be gained through grounds improvements. Research has found that in addition to providing considerable benefit to the physical environments of the schools, the School Grounds Development Programme has delivered major improvements in pupil behaviour and play, a marked reduction in stress levels amongst teachers and fewer accidents.

Janet Ward, funder INEOS Chlor's Community Relations Manager, said: "The impact of these new habitats has already been seen, even within one growing season, and in another couple of years the areas will be well established. This is just the start, the areas we have created have multiple use."

Catriona Stewart, Head Teacher at Kingsmead Primary School, said: "We are keen to develop new habitats and some of the materials from the willow coppice we will use for weaving in school and already fruit and vegetables are being harvested from our orchard and allotment areas."

ENDS

Editor Notes

The Mersey Forest, which covers an area of over 400 square miles, is the leading environmental regeneration project in the North West, and the largest of the 12 Community Forests in the United Kingdom. The organisation works in partnership with The Countryside Agency, the Forestry Commission and nine local authorities - Cheshire, Liverpool, Ellesmere Port and Neston, Halton, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Vale Royal and Warrington. The Mersey Forest is the key driver for investment into and for the development of a green infrastructure for the North West. The Mersey Forest partnership is reclaiming over 8000 hectares of land, home to 1.6million people, over a 30-year period bringing revolutionary economic, social and environmental benefit to the region.

For further information please contact:
Mike Bray, The Mersey Forest
Telephone: 01925 816 217
Email: michaelbray@merseyforest.org.uk