LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS SWOT UP ON SUSTAINABILITY AT LOCKING PARKLANDS
Eco-friendly pupils from two local primary schools were given the chance to swap their school books for hard hats this week as part of a special visit organised by Locking Parklands’ developer, St. Modwen, to the regeneration scheme near Weston-super-Mare.
During a one-day site visit (Wednesday, 13 July), a group of 27 pupils from nearby Hutton Church of England Primary School and Locking Primary School – whose eco links extend as far away as Sri Lanka – were welcomed to the 200 acre site to learn about sustainability, eco-building and green development.
During their first school visit the group of Year 1 to Year 6 pupils, who are part of special Eco Councils at their school, visited three excavated ponds on site to learn how wildlife and the surrounding trees and landscape are protected during the regeneration process.
With construction on the first phase of development underway, the children were also given a lesson in health and safety. Hazards such as open excavations, cables, and an overall view of the dangers of playing on construction sites were highlighted by the Locking Parklands’ Project Manager as pupils were given a site tour.
The pupils will now return to the classroom to put their creativity to the test, by designing health and safety posters for the site’s entrance. Three of the best designs will be awarded first, second and third place by St. Modwen, and will be displayed by St. Modwen on new hoardings.
The visit is part of St. Modwen’s ongoing work to develop community links within Locking, as a responsible, considerate and sustainable developer, as David Ludlow, Project Manager for St. Modwen, explains: “Locking Parklands is a long-term scheme that will benefit a lot of people in the surrounding communities including these pupils who could find themselves working and living at Locking Parklands in the future.
“In developing a scheme of this size and scale, it is important for children to understand how we are protecting and preserving the environment whilst also teaching them first-hand about health and safety. We are hoping that we can work with the schools to welcome more children to the site next year, as development continues.
“We have already seen some creative ideas for the posters and look forward to receiving all the designs to let the pupils make a mark on the development as part of the local community.”
Grace Hughes, aged 10, is the Chair of the School Eco Council and a Year 5 pupil at Hutton Church of England Primary School: “It was great to visit the site. I am the Chair of our Eco Council and it’s my job to make sure that we are being as green as we can be. We learnt how St. Modwen, like us, is green, and how the animals and wildlife are looked after as builders work on site.”
Macauly Abram, aged 10, is the Chair of the Health and Safety Council at Hutton. He added: “We’re really excited about the Health and Safety posters and can’t wait for everyone to see our pictures on site!”
Pat Lewis, Assistant Head Teacher at Locking Primary School “Making sure that children think sustainably and learn how to be green is an important part of their development and a key part of the learning process as part of the curriculum. Thanks to St. Modwen, the children have learnt how to relate what they learn day to day at school to the outside world. We hope that we can make this site visit a regular part of our school year so that the children can learn to continue about their wider community.”
“We are partnered with a school in Sri Lanka through an eco project and the pupils are encouraged to share information about green and sustainable practices used in their schools and local communities to help make sure that they are being as green as possible. The pupils look forward to collating what they’ve learnt this week and presenting it with their pen pals.”
As a developer, St. Modwen reclaims approximately 95 per cent of all waste materials on site. Drainage and concrete materials are sourced from nearby Weston and Bristol to ensure development takes place sustainably.
St. Modwen, with the Homes and Communities Agency, is currently transforming the former 200 acre RAF Locking site into a business and residential community which will comprise 1,500 homes, with community facilities and 450,000 sq ft of offices. The £400 million development will provide 2,000 jobs for local people.
