GREEN-FINGERED pupils at a Flintshire primary school are fighting back with help from a local storage firm after heartless vandals wrecked their garden project and stole their tools.
The youngsters at Westwood Community Primary in Buckley are well on their way to restoring the flower and vegetable beds and have planted honeysuckle and even a banana tree.
Denbigh-based Lock Stock Self Storage, who have a storage park on the town’s Globe Business Park, have stepped in with a donation of garden tools, a variety of seeds, bags of compost and environmentally-friendly flower pots.
Local Flintshire County and Town Councillor Dan Rose, a member of the Botanical Society of the British Isles and a keen naturalist, has also been involved with the school project since last year and is delighted with the interest being shown by the pupils.
He has donated a Darjeeling banana tree – an Indian variety hardy enough to cope with the North Wales climate – and is advising on the next stage of the outdoor project, developing a wildflower meadow to encourage bees, butterflies and other insects.
The vandalism upset the pupils with Harvey, 11, saying: “It was very frustrating and worrying that people would do that and because they’d stolen the tools we couldn’t work on the flower beds.”
The delivery from Lock Stock and the fine weather means that pupils from across the school can resume work on their project which includes growing strawberries, potatoes and lettuce for the school kitchen to turn into home-grown meals.
Deputy Head Lynne Brown said: “The donation from Lock Stock will be put to good use and will get us back up to speed with the garden project after the break-in and it will also deliver some produce for our dinner ladies to use.
“Dan has been a big help. He is very knowledgeable and the children have learned so much from him and the importance of respecting the natural world around them.
“We are out here in all weathers and all seasons – gardening is a year-round activity and its important to get the pupils out in all weathers.”
Lock Stock Area Manager Richard Warner, who delivered the donation to the school, said: “I’ve been busy in my own garden so I know it can be hard work but it’s also very rewarding as well.
“At Lock Stock we like to support local community efforts and charities and this is such an outstanding project which is bouncing back and not letting the vandals win.
“These are lifetime skills that these young people are learning which will stand them in good stead in the future and it teaches them good practical knowledge about the natural world.”
Ava, aged 11, said: “I like the honeysuckle we’ve planted and when it’s grown the flowers will have a lovely scent and attract bees. We’ve even planted a Magnolia tree and potatoes and strawberries as well.”
Layton, 10, said: “I used to help my auntie in her back garden with growing sunflowers. I enjoy planting things and then coming back to see if they’ve grown – it’s very rewarding when they have.”
Councillor Rose said: “It’s brilliant the way the school has embraced the gardening project and the way it is linked to wildlife and the natural world.
“The pupils are very enthusiastic about it and are happy to get involved and get their hands dirty and I’m sure it’s teaching them a great deal which they’ll be able to put to good use in the future.”
Lock Stock, which now operates 30 storage parks across North Wales and the border counties – is the largest container-based storage company in the UK.
The business, founded in Denbigh in 1999, has over 4,000 storage units providing over four million cubic feet of space at storage parks across North and Mid Wales and the border counties.
The company also specialise in the off-site hire of containers such which can be delivered by their specialist lorry, sizes range from 10-feet long up through 20-footers to 40-foot units, all eight feet high and eight feet wide, from 640 to 2,560 in cubic feet in volume.
For information about Lock Stock Self Storage including off-site container hire contact them on 01745 817178 or visit their website.
