Tarvin Primary School – Annual Countryside and Wildlife Award

On July 20th the whole of Tarvin Primary School assembled in the Community
Woodland to celebrate the seventh annual Jim Grogan Countryside and Wildlife
Award which was won by Annabel Thorp of year six. The award-winning
Community Woodland adjoins the school and plays a significant role in the
life of the school. Also attending were several trustees and volunteers
from the Tarvin Community Woodland Trust.

The headmaster, Andrew Davies, praised the woodland as a resource for the
school and also the trustees for all the work they do to develop and
maintain the woodland. The award selection process had been stringent with
in school and out of school activities being considered. This year's winner
is Annabel Thorp of year six he and read out the citation that had been
fixed into the commemorative book that is on permanent display in the
school's entrance hall.

"Annabel has, throughout the whole of her time at Tarvin, shown a keen
interest in, and developed a good understanding of, the plants and wildlife
in the local areas.
Annabel first became interested in butterflies in Pre-School, where Lyn Jackson encouraged her enormously. After she was given a Butterfly Raising Kit in Year 3, she followed the process with fascinationand was able to identify a range of different types of butterfly as a result, which led to her receiving not only a green, but also a silver Blue Peter badge.
She has an interest in birds which appear in the area, and took part in this year's RSPB "Big Garden Bird Watch".

She identified and recorded the species of birds that appeared in the garden, recording her results, which then fed a nationwide survey.

She has devoted a great deal of time to helping out with the Tarvin Community Woodland Trust. She has twice helped out with the plant sale; first by helping her dad to distribute the trust's leaflets and then assisting in the sales themselves -- learning a great deal about the plantssold in the process.
In Year 5, alongside her friends, she raised an impressive amount through a cake sale, organised to raise funds for the Trust's work. In September 2016, she helped to organise, and then took a
very active part in, the trust's celebration walk. She has twice helped out at the Trust's apple pressing days where she learned about the apple pressing process and saw how the products were not wasted, but sent to a local farmer as pig food!
She has also acted as the Trust's official "Publicity Officer" in school, speaking in assemblies and generally aiming to raise awareness of the Trust's work -- which she has been successful in
doing".

Stuart Exell, Chairman of the Trustees said that the award was so important
to the late Jim Grogan and how pleased he would have been that it has been
such a success for seven years now. He then presented Annabel with her
certificate, a commemorative plaque and a book token. He expressed the hope
that in the future some of the children present would become trustees and
take the woodland forward.

The Jim Grogan Countryside and Wildlife Award is presented annually to the
pupil of Tarvin Primary School who is considered to have the greatest
breadth of knowledge and the best understanding of the animals and plants
that make up the immediate environment of Tarvin School and Tarvin Village.