Ditton Pupils Transform Primary School into 'Green Paradise'

Nearly 100 trees have been planted in the grounds of a Widnes primary school by pupils.

Ditton Primary School are transforming their site into a green paradise for future generations to enjoy.

The Liverpool Road school has joined forces with environmental education charity SOS-UK (Students Organising for Sustainability UK) to improve biodiversity in the grounds and give a boost to local wildlife.

Pupils who took part in tree-planting at the school have formed an environmental group called Ditton Rangers.

The almost 100 tree saplings were planted at the rear of the school grounds and were generously donated by the Woodland Trust.

Teacher Andrew Lynch, who runs the Ditton Rangers group, said: “The hope is that the majority of these trees will take and start to form a wildlife hedgerow for the school.”

The aim is to encourage greater biodiversity of a third of the school site over the next few years, Andrew explained.

“We have already mapped out our school and are now working out which areas already attract wildlife and plants,” he added.

“The children are keen to support wild animals and want to attract bees, so we will be planting wildflowers and making bird boxes and other animal shelters.

“We also want to build wall gardens around the ground. This will add more biodiversity and increase the amount of greenery. The added benefits of this are that it will improve children’s wellbeing and act as an insulator for the building - reducing overheating in summer and heat loss in the winter.”

Pupils have also harvested produce from the school allotment, sharing their surplus with the community, and planted new crops that will be reading for picking in the summer.

As well as working on greening up the school site the Rangers are stepping up their recycling and investigating ways of reducing the use of energy and resources.