Portsmouth school adopts planters in bid to boost greenery in 'boring' Southsea street

Delighted youngsters from Bramble Infant School and Nursery armed themselves with trowels to dig in planters alongside the Co-op building in nature-starved Fawcett Road, in Southsea.

Six pupils from Year 2 made a start on the planters on Tuesday as part of the Wilder Portsmouth campaign, led by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.

Sunflowers, butterfly-attracting verbenas, daisies and scented geraniums were all planted by the children.

Little Layla Staley, seven, was busy digging a hole ready for planting to help inject a bit of colour in the Portsmouth street.

She said: ‘It looked a bit grey and boring.

‘It will just be really colourful.’

Ethan Bevan-Davies, seven, added the area will look better ‘because there’s more plants’.

Street artist Fark is set to add a mural to the side of the Co-op building.

It’s hoped the green efforts will see a restarting of the school’s gardening club, and encourage passers-by to join the wildlife trust’s campaign.

Headteacher Oli Bradley, whose school has adopted the planters, said staff and pupils were ‘very excited’ about being part of Wilder Portsmouth.

He said: ‘The school’s gardening club will be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the planters that will be filled with colourful bee-friendly plants.

‘We hope that local residents and anyone that might be passing will enjoy watching the garden grow.

‘This is an excellent community project that also allows us to teach our children some important lessons about respect for the environment as well as the science of plants and nature.

‘The children, along with some staff, will enjoy having the responsibility of tending to these new plants.’

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Andy Ames, communities officer at the trust, added: ‘It is essential that we increase the space for wildlife and help make the natural world an important part of people’s lives.

‘We have seen over the recent months how quickly nature can recover if allowed and how important it is to our own wellbeing. You can help make this recovery last.’

Anyone who wants to get involved with the campaign can email [email protected]

The News has launched the Going for Green campaign in conjunction with Portsmouth Climate Action Board to encourage everyone to make a change in their lifestyle to minimise their own impact on climate change – as well as urging big corporations and organisations to reduce their emissions.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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