Visit for Leamington Town Mayor to Paintings Plantation

The Mayor arrived at 2pm to tour the two-acre reserve before joining the Eco Club students for tea and celebration cake.

Paintings Plantation, sited at Campion School, Leamington, is named after Norman Painting OBE, BBC Radio 4’s Phil Archer of The Archers, who was Patron of Age UK Warwickshire until his death in 2009.

The Plantation, sitting within the school boundary, is a tree and pond reserve that was first planted at the Millennium, but had become overgrown and unusable by 2015.

With the school’s support, and by recruiting a team of volunteers, a project led by Elizabeth Phillips MBE and Sue Gillespie, former Chief Executive and trustee of Age UK Warwickshire, raised funds through grant applications to recover the wilderness.

Eight years later the volunteers are still looking after the trees and pond to ensure it is safe and accessible for the Eco club students.

The area is visited regularly by Primary and Junior school children who love to pond dip and wonder at the life thriving at the bottom of the pond, which contributes to their practical curriculum experience.

Volunteers share their knowledge with Eco Club students on tree maintenance, growing vegetables and the benefits of being outside in nature.

The latest project has been to build raised vegetable beds and grow on seeds and plug plants. This has been supported by a grant from the Town Council to buy specialist materials.

Jassar Panasar, Head Teacher at Campion School, commented, “The project has been wonderful for our pupils and staff as we are able to enjoy the reserve both in and out of lessons.

"Our staff have been able to deliver lessons from the area and our Eco club team have thoroughly enjoyed supporting the development of this natural and valuable resource”.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who have supported us over the last few years, especially those from Age UK, I am looking forward to seeing the project continue to grow in the coming years.