PUPILS from Bincombe Valley Primary School have been helping Dorset Wildlife Trust with hedge and tree planting.

Over two days, year three and four pupils from the school planted trees and native hedges to help with conservation work at Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve.

Children were assisted by Sam Dallimore, Conservation Officer at Dorset Wildlife Trust who enjoyed working with the children.

She said: “They were all like ‘I planted the most’ so they did really well and the ones who it wasn’t their turn they went and did a walk around, it was really good.”

This is the latest in a series of events between Bincombe and the trust with nursery pupils last month making birdfeeders to place around the playground with the help of volunteers from the Lorton Meadows centre.

Dorset Wildlife Trust would struggle to get all the essential work they do done without the help of school groups, especially when it comes to plantings.

Sam said: “We do a huge amount of stuff with volunteers and schools. We wouldn’t get the tree and hedge planting done if we didn’t have volunteers and people to help us out.

Hopefully it means these kids will come down with their parents.”

Mrs Mason, one of the teachers helping on the project praised the day for both its enjoyment and educational benefits.

She said: “The children had a great time planting trees and learning to care for and take responsibility for their environment.”

Pupils were taking part in the planting in the Higher Southdown area of Lorton Meadows.

The trust has been given funding by the Weymouth and Portland partnership to work with schools in the Littlemoor area and the planting was taking place using part of this funding.

Alongside the conservation work, the funding is also helping to educate children about the reserve and promote awareness of nature issues.

The grassland at Lorton is an important nature reserve and conservation area attracting a variety of butterfly species and its proximity to Lodmoor and Radipole RSPB reserves means it is visited by a variety of migrating birds.

The resident species include barn owls, kestrels and cettis.

Volunteer are a huge part of the work the wildlife trust do and they are always on the lookout for more.

If you want to volunteer for projects like this or other in any other way to help the trust, more information is available at www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk.