4 July 2006

GREEN WIDNES PUPILS DIG IN FOR SCHOOL GROUNDS SUCCESS

GREEN pupils from Wade Deacon High School's 'G-Force Team' are celebrating the completion of a dramatic make-over of their school grounds - with the children's own hard work helping to make their dream school environment a reality.

The £3000 work at Wade Deacon, on Birchfield Road, as well as similar improvements at Ditton C of E VC Primary School, forms part of the ongoing 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.

"Wade Deacon's after-school 'G-Force Team' club has been developing an area of their school grounds over the last two years," explains Jo Sayers, The Mersey Forest's Community Development Officer.

"Environmental charity BTCV has been working with the 'G-Force Team' to create a range of habitats in the grounds to attract and maximise wildlife, from a Wildlife Garden, to native habitats, to a new pond installed as part of the project."

At Ditton C of E, the improvements have included upgraded footpaths as part of managing the school's mini-woodland, wildflower sowing, structure planting to create shade around the school grounds, and landscaping at the front of the school.

It is hoped that the two schools will tap into a wide range of benefits from the improvements, as the work has seen The Mersey Forest follow a well-tested 'holistic' approach to school grounds development. The approach considers the social and environmental rewards that can be gained through well planned, interactive and inclusive 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, funders INEOS Chlor's Community Relations Manager, said: "When the school contacted us we were keen to help support the work. The young people have worked hard to transform a previously featureless area for benefit of both future pupils and wildlife."

Jan Gormley, Assistant Headteacher at Wade Deacon High School, said: "The pupils at our school are keen volunteers and meet regularly to work on all aspects of the garden. Perhaps they will become the environmental managers of the future."

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