West Midlands villagers dig in and plant more than 1,000 shrubs in 'Big Plant Out'
Albrighton's Big Plant Out was led by by the village's 1st Scout Group and the two local schools – Albrighton Primary and St Mary's.
The initiative took place last Wednesday (May 28) and saw hundreds of children, teachers and volunteers ‘rewilding’ a large part of Newport Road.
The scheme has seen young people carefully grow their seeds over the last couple of months with the end goal of swapping the classroom for nature to transform a dedicated area so wildlife can thrive.
Rachel Wild from 1st Albrighton Scout Group said: "Over the course of the day, I think we had over 200 volunteers join us at the 'Big Plant Out' - and this was despite torrential rain for some parts of the activity.
"It just goes to show how great the community spirit is in Albrighton and how important nature and creating the right biodiversity for our village is to people, both young and old.
“Over 1,000 plants were 'dug' in during the day and there were some great conversations helping to connect the young people to nature. After all, the children taking part are going to be the future custodians of the wild verge for the years to come!"
The Albrighton Verge Improvement Project intervention has been granted permission from Shropshire Highways to adopt the verge and received backing from Albrighton and Donnington Parish Council.
Mid-counties Co-op and British Gardens have also been extremely supportive, donating refreshments for the army of planters and supplying the seeds, tools and watering cans respectively.
Now the Big Plant is completed, organisers will install several signs indicating ‘please no mow’ and informing the public about the plant life cycle.
Rachel concluded: “We’ll have to be patient as it will take several years for our village to reap the most benefit.
“However, the important thing is we have galvanised the community, helped our young people connect with nature and taken the important first steps to supporting vital wildlife.”
