THE SUN was shining over Rubery on Tuesday morning (March 4) as Bromsgrove District Council and Waseley Hills High School collaborated to boost a local parks biodiversity.
Over a dozen fruit trees were planted in Brook Road Park in Rubery with Waseley’s eco-committee sixth form students doing the dirty work alongside the town’s councillor Peter McDonald and the council’s parks team.
Over a dozen locally sourced apple, plum and cherry trees were planted as part of the project which was funded through the council’s earmarked kitty for parks and recreation around the district.
Coun McDonald, for Rubery North, told the Standard: “Having fruit trees like this is really something, a mini orchard for the park.
“We’ve been trying for years to get more money into recreation and the new budget has made it possible.
“It was brilliant to see the children get involved which we want to continue as much as possible with future projects.”
Richard, a long-serving member of Bromsgrove District Council and Redditch Borough Council’s combined parks team, told the Standard it was great to be able to pass on a passion for the outdoors to the children, something him and his family were really into when he was growing up.
He added: “Curriculum’s sometimes lack having a connection with the outdoors so it was great to see them enjoying the tree planting.
“Parks are vital for the community and small changes like this can make a big difference.”
The parks team helped the students plant the trees which will begin to root and establish over the spring before they begin bearing fruit for the community over the next few years.
Getting their hands dirty from Waseley was three students – Oliver, Harry and Josh – two of whom are on the school’s eco-committee.
Josh added: “On the committee we work to raise awareness for environmentally friendly measures throughout the school.
“We help spread the message to the younger ones and do things like this for the community.
“It’s something we can do to help counteract the amount of paper we use in our school and create something which is sustainable.”
The trees will now be looked after and maintained by the council’s places team who will keep an eye on their growth and do as much as they can to ensure they develop naturally.
