CHILDREN GET INVOLVED IN WILDFLOWER PLANTING

Children from Llanelli schools are playing their part in supporting the local environment and making their communities brighter as part of a wildflower planting initiative.

Carmarthenshire County Council trialled wildflower planting in several areas last summer, and received great feedback from local people and visitors about the natural, colourful look they bring over the summer months.

Several council departments have got together again this year to prepare wildflowers for the season, and have also got local school children involved.

Amongst them are children on the eco committee and gardening clubs at Halfway and Dafen primary schools.

They joined the council’s housing and grounds maintenance teams to prepare ground and scatter seeds on housing land in the Dafen area.

Supported by Environmental Works Project funding from Housing Services, the children helped plant seeds on land that had been weeded and rotivated in advance, and raked over the soil to ensure they were well planted.

They also had the opportunity to learn about wildflowers and the environmental benefits they bring to pollinating insects and wildlife.

Cllr Linda Evans, Executive Board Member for Housing, said: “We had wonderful feedback from people when we planted wildflowers on housing land last year, and we’re very keen to repeat it this summer. It was lovely to get children from local schools involved – I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to seeing the flowers come to life.”

Cllr Hazel Evans, Executive Board Member for Environment, added: “Wildflowers are a wonderful way to brighten up verges and open spaces in local communities. Our grounds maintenance team was glad to prepare the areas for planting and work with the children to help them learn.”