Lucky Mossgate School have large playing fields, with areas set aside as nature areas when the school was built 25 years ago. Latterly, there had been no management, so the new headteacher asked us to take a look. The pond area was very overgrown with willows, not retaining water and the well-constructed dipping platform was totally inaccessible. The willows were tackled with the help of a tree-surgeon, the dipping platform reclaimed and work started on the pond itself. Due to heavy rain the water levels fluctuated so we had to await the right moment to reline and replant, with the help of parents and teachers. Best time for pond work is late summer when the invertebrates have finished their breeding and we create minimal disturbance.

Another corner of their field was planted as a mini woodland. We took it onboard, making sure a small circuit was accessible for the children and expanded the area with new trees, donated by OVO through the Trust for Conservation Volunteers. All these young trees are native species so should give a much better habitat in years to come.