Rushden school's eco-committee help wildlife at housing development

Green-fingered schoolchildren helped plant the garden of a showhome on a development in Rushden.

Pupils from Rushden Academy have rolled up their sleeves to help put the final touches to the garden of a house at Davidsons Homes' Sanders Fields development in the town.

The developer, which is building 80 homes at the site off Northampton Road, invited children at the school to suggest eco-friendly flowers for the garden.

Simon Tyler, sales director at Davidsons Homes South Midlands, said: “When our experts were designing the layout and content of the garden at the three-storey showhome they thought it would be a nice idea to ask the children at a local school – Rushden Academy – to come up with some suggestions.

“The school has an eco-committee which is very popular with the pupils. When the school got back to us they sent us a whole presentation with suggestions for flowers and other features which might be suitable for the garden. It is important that the garden has a selection of flora to help pollinators such as bees and butterflies to help encourage and sustain local wildlife such as insects and the birds that feed on them.

“After taking on board the input from the children we have incorporated a hedgehog house, a variety of wildflowers, bug hotels and bird baths into the garden.

“We would like to thank the pupils for all of their suggestions and for their valuable help in putting the final touches to the garden, which looks stunning. It is very reassuring to see that the next generation has a real passion for the environment and helping to promote and protect wildlife.”

Cassie Wiles, head of science at Rushden Academy, said: “Our Year 8 students loved seeing some of the elements from their design ideas brought to life in such a wonderful garden. The range of plants had been designed to encourage wildlife to visit year-round and the bug hotels would help to ensure an increase in biodiversity for the local area. They also very much enjoyed seeing the inside of the showhome and receiving a goody bag.

“I’d like to thank Davidsons Homes on behalf of the students for this opportunity and for being eco-conscious when designing their garden, and again thank them for their donation towards our sensory garden earlier this year.”

Davidsons Homes paid £500 for the topsoil to help create Rushden Academy’s new sensory and wildlife garden earlier in the year.