History of the Environmental Garden During research one of the websites used, was the Woodland trust and it was from this site that the campaign being spearheaded by Bill Bryson to plant 16 million trees or one tree for every child under sixteen was first discovered. From this it was decided to try and plant a tree for every pupil within school. The next major, full day activity was planned as part of national tree week and became Tree Sunday in December 2006. The plans for the day were to plant nearly 100 metres of traditional hedgerow plus a large selection of woodland trees. To gain further publicity members of Thornton Horticultural Society were asked to formally plant a tree to forge links between the school and local community. On the day approximately thirty five helpers turned up representing staff students and locals with a range in ages from two to seventy five, and between them managed to plant over 650 trees. Some of the students that turned up on the day had never planted anything before, so hopefully we will be able to claim to have spawned one or two future gardeners. A very windy cold December morning! As part of the long term planning of the garden, three rows of Laurel were planted which hopefully would one day act as a stage backdrop.
The school has continued to support the garden financially and we have had some very generous donations from individuals, as a result of this, an Improvement Plan was produced with individuals given action to complete within the next academic year. One of these actions was to invite a local primary school in to tour the garden and then complete an eco bomb project and finally spend time researching habitats. Over fifty children subsequently came in and had a exciting time, taking back with them an environmentally friendly seed pot of wild flowers plus an entry form and seeds for a sunflower growing contest. Another department within school has made a variety of bird, bat and hedgehog boxes, which have now been placed, around the garden.
The Pond and Stickleback Bridge When students were first consulted about what they would like to see in the garden, top of the list was a pond, and so once funds were available the pond was dug out, lined and filled. A few basic plants were put in, and after a few weeks to allow any residual chemicals in the water to leech out, a bucket of sludgy pond dippings was brought back from Hothersall Lodge, after a science residential trip, this also included about a dozen sticklebacks. From this basic beginning, the policy has always been not to introduce any more species into the pond, and simply to allow a healthy natural pond to develop. Some six months later we did our first pond and we were completely amazed at the variety of species we caught. As part of our Community links and primary liaison, lots of students and adults were able to see and enjoy working in the garden, but unfortunately
because of health and safety concerns, they were unable to do the dip themselves, and our next target for development was a bridge to work from. With good school links to local engineering firms, a local structural engineer did some calculations, and gave us a blueprint for the construction of a 9 metre bridge. Enrichment now became bridge building, and with some generous help from the school and PTFA all the materials were bought and under the guidance of Mr.Thompson work began with a small group of Year 10 students, on its construction. The initial fabrication was carried out in school, but it soon became too big, and assembly continued on the school car park.
The final hurdle was lifting the one and a quarter tonne bridge into place, and this was finally achieved with the help of a local crane company and local engineering works. The bridge was officially opened by Duncan Byrne the local Wyre Countryside Ranger, continuing the links the school has had for many years with this service. Since its completion, the bridge has been a huge success, and we estimate to date approximately 1500 children have enjoyed an afternoons pond dipping.
Eco Warriors The school has an Eco-Warriors group who meet at dinnertimes under the guidance of one of the science teachers, whatever the weather. Their aim is to help reduce the schools impact on the environment and help provide a pleasant place to learn. The students have assigned themselves with particular roles, including a recycling team, animal care team, and a gardening manager. They have been acting on the action plan that was produced last year through an environmental review. As a group they are looking at reducing litter, recycling, adopting an endangered animal for the whole school, and encouraging the school community to Go Green by breeding spider plants for classrooms. They have also successfully up cycled jewellery, to sell at school fayres. They prepare assemblies, carry out surveys and run competitions. They also have their very own fruit and vegetable patch which this year will provide the school with tomatoes, strawberries and peas, aided by the collection of Morrison s vouchers and the equipment subsequently purchased.
The Green Theatre As part of the very first plans for the garden, as a Science and Performing Arts college, the students felt it was important to have a performing area within the garden, and on tree planting day, back in 2006, a row of Laurel trees were planted by Mr.Kilmurray that would form the backdrop to the stage, with gaps between them to provide stage exits left and right. Many years later, Mr.Gerrard kindly donated the Chairman s Challenge prize money to provide the finance, to allow the Theatre to be built. Mr Thompson, working with students, began the arduous task of moving many tonnes of soil, ballast materials and sixty second-hand railway sleepers into position. Builders supply North West gave generous support with all materials, as well as providing work wear for the students. Mr.Gerrard was also was responsible for the Crusherthon a competition to see who could move the most amount of stone in a set period of time, an ingenious method of getting students to enthusiastically move a huge pile of stone blocking the school car park! The theatre area was finally completed in 2012 and Student Voice was consulted to come up with a name for the outdoor venue, finally choosing The Green as the name for our 90 seater outdoor performing area.