RED ROSE FOREST PRESS RELEASE

Flixton Park reaps rewards of school’s vision!

Event: St Michael’s Primary School’s vision of a wildlife corridor in Flixton is realised as pupils plant sow wildflower seeds for spring and summer.

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 20, 2005, 9.35am.

Meet: Flixton Park car park near to Flixton house and the recycling centre.

Contact: Chris Johnstone or Fliss Paris at Red Rose Forest on 0161 872 1660; Gary Devine at Trafford MBC Parks and Countryside on 0161 912 2574 or Jo Leach at St. Michael’s Primary School on 0161 748 3669 . For on the day press enquiries please phone Fliss Paris on 07984 786 170.

The Trafford public will soon be enjoying a revamped public space thanks to the vision of pupils and teachers from a Flixton primary school.
And with the help of Red Rose Forest, Greater Manchester’s Community Forest and Trafford MBC, children from St Michael’s C of E Primary School, will be putting the final touches to an innovative Wildlife Corridor in Flixton, which they helped design, this Wednesday.

Children entered Trafford MBC’s Greenscape Challenge competition, last year. The competition allowed schools to produce ideas that would improve an already existing green space. And judges rated St Michael’s design so highly that it became a reality, thanks to funding from Greening Greater Manchester.

The Wildlife Corridor goes straight through Flixton Park allowing visitors to pass close to a purpose built wildlife habitat with a range of native woodland wildflowers set to bloom in the summer. The wildflowers will attract more insects and as a result, more birds. This process is known as a food web.

And to reinforce the importance of food webs, pupils will be learning about them with environmental educator and artist, Mike Green. Mike will be asking the children to draw insect designs to be fitted to signs that will be placed along the wildlife corridor. These signs will explain food webs to park visitors.

But this isn’t the first time St Michael’s have developed cutting edge environmental work. A few years ago, the school created its own Millennium environmental garden, which was personally endorsed by H.R.H. Prince Charles. The school received a personal letter from the prince congratulating him on the idea and he even dispatched his own gardener from his High Grove Estate in Gloucestershire.

Commenting on St Michael’s latest successful environmental project, the teacher in charge, Jo Leach, noted the importance of working with the wider community. She said: ”The idea of this project is to build stronger community ownership of all sites. Our millennium garden is not very far from the wildlife corridor and both will compliment each other, allowing wildlife to traverse between both sites. We feel that it is important to teach our children the value of getting involved in the wider community. The school has a vital role in supporting environmental and community links.”

Red Rose Forest’s Fliss Paris, who is co-ordinating the wildflower seed plant, was keen to praise St Michael’s involvement. She said: “The school and the pupils have worked really hard over the past few years and have put something back into the community.
They have left a great environmental legacy which will benefit visitors to Flixton Park for years to come.”

If you require more information please call Chris Johnstone on 0161 872 1660.