Students help with environment project to support birds
Students at a Shropshire school have been putting their skills to good use as part of an environmental partnership project.
The initiative is a collaboration between Severndale Specialist Academy in Shrewsbury, construction company Taylor Wimpey, and Telford-based Reconomy UK, which connects waste with those who can use it as a resource.
Liz Harrison, assistant principal at Severndale, said the scheme involved students from the Academy’s Futures Programme which is aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds.
It focuses on practical skills like landscaping, hospitality, catering and technology, rather than traditional academic subjects.
She said: “As part of the project, Reconomy delivered used wooden pallets to us and our students re-purposed the timber into bird boxes.
“The bird boxes were then returned to Taylor Wimpey for installation around their latest construction site in London Road.
“This has been a great opportunity for our students to use their skills to help boost the support for nature and the environment locally, and a chance to work with two organisations who are working hard to make a difference.”
Mark O’Connor, from Reconomy, said the bird boxes were part of Taylor Wimpey’s commitment on the Shrewsbury site to support biodiversity net gain and nature enhancements which also include hedgehog highways, bat boxes and bug hotels.
“This project not only reduces waste and supports sustainability goals, but also boosts local biodiversity.
“It also provides invaluable hands-on experience for the students and allows Reconomy to educate them on environmental benefits, fostering a new generation of sustainability champions.”
Taylor Wimpey said: “The success of this project sets the stage for expanding the initiative across the wider Taylor Wimpey portfolio, and we’ve been very impressed with the boxes the students created and their dedication to this project as a whole.”
Severndale is part of the Learning Community Trust, a multi-academy trust with more than a dozen sites across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
