08 July 2010

Pupils enjoy green party
LINLITHGOW Bridge Primary School pupils finished a complete revamp of their school grounds before the summer holidays break began.

The school, which is working towards its fourth Green Flag from Eco Schools Scotland, undertook an exciting new development through the Eco Committee within the wildlife garden.

This project aimed to improve the school grounds while creating attractive habitats for a range of mini beasts and birds.

The area to be redeveloped required a great deal of work as many of the original plants had died, become too big or were past their best. The ground itself was extremely hard packed and of poor quality.

The first job for the Eco Committee was to source funding for their planned improvement. The Eco Committee applied to West Lothian 'Grounds for Awareness Scheme' and was awarded a grant of £600 to put towards this venture.

Morrison Facilities Service also pledged £500 towards the cost of the scheme.

DAMM Environmental Limited, who maintain the school grounds, very kindly agreed to help by gifting their time to clear the area of dead or unwanted plants.

They also dug up the ground and added soil improver and fertiliser.

To ensure the new plants were not eaten by wildlife, staff from the Mill Garden Centre in Armadale erected a fence to deter rabbits from entering. In addition, the garden centre was on hand to offer advice and provide rabbit-proof plants that would also attract wildlife to the garden.

Meanwhile, pupils, parents and friends of the school were standing by to help replant the area. The Eco Committee was overwhelmed by the number of volunteers that turned out to help.

All the hard work culminated in a garden party where the redevelopment of the wildlife garden could be shared with both the school and local community. Guests were able to admire the garden while they enjoyed some refreshments and entertainment provided but the choir and school musicians.

For the full news article and to be taken to the website, click here