Hundreds of school children + a healthy dose of enthusiasm + thousands of bluebells = a new wildflower meadow!
To mark the spring equinox and the launch of our new programme ‘Green Fingers in the Park’, this week 400 local school children donned wheelbarrows, picked up their tools and got their hands dirty to plant thousands of new native bluebell bulbs in Hyde Park. Not only will these beds of bluebells look stunning in the years to come, they will provide vital new habitats for bees, birds and insects.
The children aged 4-11 years, all from local school, Thomas’s Kensington, arrived well kitted out for a chilly day in the Parks – hats, gloves and scarves and lots of energy! It was a wintry first day of spring, but that was not going to put this little army of helpers off the job.
After a warm welcomed from the education team here at the Isis Education Centre in Hyde Park, the children were quickly divided into groups, and with a cheer, set off entusiastically to their first activity .
One group joined gardeners from The Royal Parks to plant the bluebell bulbs around the base of trees, another group explored the Park - meeting the trees and discovering wildlife - and the third was based in the education centre dissecting daffodils and planting seeds in take-home biodegradable pots made out of newspaper. This was certainly a day for learning inside and out – and uncovering nature’s life cycle at first hand.
The squeals and air punching as they planted another bulb or uncovered another wriggly worm, as well as the smiles and dedication of the children told us they had a good time. One teacher even said "her class had voted it the best day ever!"
We were absolutely charmed and inspired by each and every one of the children and were thrilled they helped launch this new programme to encourage schools, local communities and workplaces to become involved with nature projects in the Park.
We also want to extend our huge thanks to the parents for their fantastic support and all the vital fundraising they did to make this entire project possible - and to all the teachers for inspiring the children to give something back to the local community!
A good job well done by all.
Roberta Blaylock, Head of Science at Thomas’s Kensington told us what she thought of the project:
