A ‘FANTASTIC’ school project based around Wolston Fields Quarry has scooped an award.
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (WWT) and Wolston St Margaret’s Primary School won the £5,000 first prize for a UK Community Project at the International Quarry Life Awards.
Their ‘Quarry Life Trail’, which runs through Wolston Fields Quarry, impressed judges as an example of how primary schools can use an active quarry to learn more about the local geology, history, industry, the quarry process, and restoration for wildlife.
The school worked with Lucy Hawker from WWT’s Dunsmore Living Landscape Scheme and Stuart Parker from Smith’s Concrete to create three information boards which are now positioned along a public footpath through the quarry.
The boards focus on the geology and history of the site, the exciting archaeological finds discovered there, the quarrying process and the new Wolston Fields Nature Reserve.
They feature artwork and poetry created by Year 6 pupils from the school, who also completed a study looking at the environmental impact a quarry can have, balanced with the need for the materials produced.
Lucy Hawker said: “We’re used to information at old heritage and restored industrial locations, but we rarely see anything at active working sites.
“This has been a fantastic opportunity to create something that enables pupils to learn about their local area now, not just when everything is finished in the future. Plus, local people walking the path can learn things too.”
Hannah Griffiths, Year 6 teacher at Wolston St Margaret’s, said: “Our involvement in the project was a great real-life educational opportunity. Though the Year 6 pupils involved have moved on to secondary education, their ideas will be on the information boards for years to come – helping to inform other pupils about the quarry, local history and wildlife.”
Wolston Fields Quarry Manager Stuart Parker added: “The school and Wildlife Trust gave us this chance to show how as an industry we can contribute positively during the quarry process, and to share some of the great things we have here – including the wide range of plant and bird life. The quarry is now home to Warwickshire’s largest population of sand martins, with over 80 nesting burrows recorded.”
