Leamington mayor visits school nature reserve to celebrate work of charity volunteers
Leamington Mayor Cllr Sarah Boad has visited a school’s nature reserve in the town to celebrate the work of the Age UK volunteers who maintain the site.
Paintings Plantation, at Campion School, is named after the actor and countryman Norman Painting - who played BBC Radio 4’s Phil Archer of The Archers.
The first trees were planted at the Millennium by students at the school supported by The Tree Council and Norman.
Subsequent tree plantings have expanded the site to nearly two acres.
Norman was the patron of Age Concern Warwickshire until his death in 2009.
His ashes are under some of the trees at the plantation.
In 2017, volunteers from Age UK Warwickshire, (now Age UK Coventry and Warwickshire formerly Age Concern Warwickshire) proposed a scheme to regenerate and develop the plantation which had become overgrown and inaccessible.
The pond was also restored with a grant.
The school was delighted to receive support to make use of a site which offers peace and tranquillity to pupils and opportunities for learning more about the environment and understanding of nature.
A group of retired volunteers cleared the undergrowth away and now each week meet to maintain the area so that others can use it.
In the course of a year, ten local primary and junior schools visit the school to pond dip as part of their curriculum.
Campion’s ECO club meets every two weeks after school with the volunteers to undertake various jobs including to plant and look after the vegetable plot.
Other school departments use the facilities to teach students in line with their curriculum using the outdoor classroom.