Fifteen staff from Wales & West Utilities have carried out a flagship project to transform a nature area at a school in Newport.The team of handy helpers set to work at Duffryn High to undertake the project which has seen two areas of land benefit from a transformation. This was a BITC Give & Gain Day initiative, postponed because of the extensive nature of the work to be carried out.
The volunteers descended on the school in Willowbrook Drive during half term to complete the project and now pupils will get to enjoy a revitalised pond and nature area whilst also benefitting from new seating to the school’s restful area.
Wales & West Utilities colleagues spent time making the pond area safe after consulting specialist ecologists. The team worked hard to cut back vegetation, clear pathways, build a wooden fence, lay a wood chip path and install bug hotels, nesting boxes and bird feeders. Work to the quiet outside area included cleaning and staining benches, decking, fencing and a gate, repairing wooden planters and painting a storage cabin.
Dafydd Williams, acting head teacher at Duffryn High was delighted with the outcome and said: “The work and dedication of the team from Wales & West Utilities has been tremendous. They have pulled together to accomplish a lot in a short period of time and we are thrilled.
“Pupils and teaching staff will now be able to benefit and use the two areas and we hope to enjoy them well into the future. I am excited to see pupil’s faces when they come back from half term and see the difference that has been made to our school.”
Wales & West Utilities Connections Manager, Nigel Winnan, oversaw the project and said: “We are committed to making a difference to the communities in which we work and were only too pleased to help out at Bishop Childs School.
“Our staff were keen to get involved in the project and working together we have accomplished a lot. We hope that everyone at the school will continue to benefit from the revitalised areas.”
Wales & West Utilities is celebrating 10 years of delivering gas safely and securely to more than 2.5 million homes and businesses across Wales and the south west of England.