School children leave lovely legacy

Recently four very enthusiastic pupils from Higham Ferrers Junior School, accompanied by teachers Lara Maple and Neil Smith, swapped their maths lesson for a fascinating tour of the grounds and some expert advice about insects, flowers and small mammals.

The Friends, whose management plan is in its fifth year, invited the pupils along '' to encourage them to start to care about the environment'', explained Brenda Lofthouse, the new chair of the Friends who are volunteers dedicated to supporting the maintenance of the exterior of the Grade 1 buildings in Higham Ferrers.

'' If the children have access to flora and fauna, they may well go on to look after things in their own garden as every little bit helps'', Brenda noted.

The pupils (Alfie, Olivia, Lucy and Miley ) who are pictured with Friends of St Mary's Secretary Carol Fitzgerald and Brian Behagg its Treasurer , may also help the Friends in their ambition to achieve a gold award from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust- responsible for conservation in churchyards- for work that has been undertaken.

The pupils left a legacy of their visit, planting sunflower seedlings - and other plants- in the Bede's Woman garden which are an important source of seeds for birds.

Carol told how the Friends would continue to develop opportunities for wildlife, including improving butterfly and moth habitats. ''We even had a dead hedge where lots of things are rotting and that's good for wildlife too'', she said, telling the pupils that The Friends would also continue carrying out surveys on the various types of insects, mammals and flower populations.

''Did you know we also have a white flower in the churchyard, which has never been here before?'' she asked, explaining it was a Common Cornsalad. ''However, it is very small, so easy to miss'', she added.