School is now a green and pleasant place

May 20 2008 by Karen Wilson, The Journal

A GROUP of students from Hirst High School in Ashington who set up a gardening club on a piece of school wasteland have had their efforts rewarded with a major conservation accolade.

Rural Club has scooped the first prize in the School Category of Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s 2008 Conservation Awards which were sponsored by npower and held at Blagdon Hall. The after- school club is run by a member of the science team and three students with six other students dropping in on an ad-hoc basis.

The club’s intention was to create a welcoming garden for all ages within the school which could be used for enjoyment, lessons and after-school clubs while at the same time offering its members the opportunity to develop their gardening and practical skills.

There are four main parts to the garden: a wildflower meadow and hedgerows and trees to attract wildlife; a wetland area with a pond to attract small mammals; a formal garden; and an allotment garden to enable the young people to grow their own food.

The garden is built mostly from recycled materials collected from the local area. Rainwater is used to water the plants instead of mains water and the students hope that a compost area for the garden’s waste will encourage others to do so in their own homes and gardens.

The project has enabled the students involved to develop links with other departments in the school and helped to build internal partnerships.

The high school currently undertakes key skills lessons and it is hoped that the garden could eventually be used to help teach students of all ages about urban wildlife which is currently a module in the land-based GCSE and animal care courses.

Handing over a commemorative trophy, certificate and wildlife gift pack worth £100, Jason Gaskell, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s head of people and wildlife, said: “This is a fabulous project which is well worthy of recognition.

“The idea initially came from a student called Stephen Bell who set up the project which is run entirely by young people and is starting to play a larger part in the community.

“It will be worth seeing the project develop over the next few years, and who knows, maybe one of the young people will go on to become the next Alan Titchmarsh.”

Gary Doig, npower’s community investment manager said: “Npower has been supporting Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Conservation Awards since 2003. As a responsible company we have an active community involvement programme and know that protecting the environment is important to our customer and our employees.

“One of our key aims is to inspire communities to get involved in improving their local environment, making it better for future generations.

“The Conservation Awards provide us with an excellent opportunity to acknowledge and reward the achievements of those already making a difference.”