News

Pupils at Leamington Hastings Infant School have a new wildlife garden and pond to enjoy, thanks to a team of green fingered volunteers from Severn Trent.

The team of Community Champions headed down to the school near Rugby and transformed a piece of unused land into a wildlife wonderland for the youngsters.

Andrew Harbord, one of the volunteers, said: “We wanted to do something that would really make a real difference, and the children can now take their learning outside and enjoy this area and use it to observe the local wildlife for years to come.”

The project came about after Paul Marshall, a ranger at Severn Trent’s Draycote Water advised that the local school needed help and arranged for the team to spend their volunteer day at the school. Paul and volunteers from Draycote also helped the Community Champions to complete the project and helped supply materials.

Andrew says “It was tricky putting the pond in, and to create the new pathways, but with a bit of teamwork, we got the job complete. Knowing the children will make full use of the space and enjoy it, makes all the hard work worth it.”

Severn Trent launched a new volunteering programme, called Community Champions, last month which allows its employees two volunteering days of their choice a year. The project will see Severn Trent employees volunteering across its entire region, which stretches across the Midlands and into mid-Wales.

“We had a great day creating this unique area, and hopefully the children are excited to get out there and start spotting the local wildlife and even growing their own fruit and veg,” adds Andrew. “Who knows, we might have even inspired the next David Attenborough!”