Hedging Their Bets For A Beautiful School
Hedging Their Bets For A Beautiful School
PUPILS at Penpont will help plant almost 650 feet of hedge around their school with help from kind-hearted staff at Buccleuch Estates.
Eighty pupils from the Thornhill-based school will join a team of rangers and foresters from the Duke of Buccleuch’s Queensberry Estate to plant 1200 seedlings.
And it is hoped the newest addition to the school will benefit children for decades to come.
Penpont School has a special significance to the Buccleuch family as Lord Dalkeith’s children attended as youngsters.
Mike Caughlin, Woodland Operations Manager at Queensberry said the Estate had helped the school obtain an environmental grant for the hedge and would also donate the tools, time and manpower to complete the special project.
He said: “Woodlands and nature are at the very heart of the Buccleuch Estates and we felt it was really fitting that we get involved and help.
“It’s a great chance for the children to get involved in a hands-on task that might get a bit muddy too!”
The big dig will take place on March 20th at the school.
Buccleuch staff will join teams of pupils who will each get the chance to help create the massive hedge which will span the perimeter of the whole playground.
Richard Riley, Head Ranger at Queensberry said staff would spend the whole day helping pupils put the hedge in place.
He said staff were delighted to be able to lend a helping hand.
He said: “Over the years, the Duke and his family have shown a real commitment to education and the preservation and careful management of woodlands and nature and this project successfully combines the two.”
Hedge bottoms can be rich in wildflowers and provide a haven for invertebrates, ground-nesting birds, small mammals and reptiles
They are a characteristic feature in some areas of Scotland. Hedgerows enhance the landscape and provide food and cover for birds and small mammals.
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