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The Jim Grogan Award for Tarvin School

20th October 2021 @ 6:06am – by Tarvin Webteam
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The countryside around Tarvin played an important part in the growing up of Jim Grogan, as he spent time in the fields, hedgerows, streams and lanes that have since been developed into what is now our modern village. He came to realise that all children can benefit hugely from an involvement in the living world around them and with nature in all its forms.

This became an important part in his motivation to develop the strip of land, abandoned after the construction of the Tarvin A51 bypass, so that it became a woodland for the whole Tarvin community -- but especially for the children. It is a fitting tribute to Jim's life that the "Countryside and Wildlife Award", presented annually to a pupil of Tarvin School, should be set up in his name. This year's presentation of the award was made in a special assembly held at the school on Thursday, 30th September. The recipient for 2021 is Florence Lyne.

Florence has a love of nature which has grown over the years and is infectious. She has a fascination with small creatures and employs a "bug pot" to aid her creature-hunting around her garden and playground. Her enthusiasm for this rubs off on the other children, whom she encourages to join her. She has planted her garden with wild flowers in order to attract and protect the multitude of bees, butterflies and other insects which visit it.

The Wildlife Trust's "30DaysWild" activity programme this summer has enabled Florence to undertake a wide variety of the activities suggested in her 'passport'. These have included the sowing of wildflower seeds, taking a wild photo, listening to birdsong, going on a bug hunt, following a bumblebee, identifying a wildflower, hugging a tree and exercising outdoors!

She is a regular user of Tarvin woodland and is a keen birdwatcher (being also a member of the RSPB). These two are frequently combined when Florence, who is also fond of climbing trees, is able to gain improved vantage points from which to watch the birds. She was very excited when, several weeks ago, she saw her first woodpecker in the woodland! A very observant person, she has particularly loved watching the nuthatches and was fascinated by the blue tits bringing food
to their chicks in the nest boxes.

Her concern for nature and her avid love of reading combined wonderfully when, this year, she chose to give her class assembly on Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan founder of the Green Belt Movement – the organisation that has been able to plant over 45 million trees across Kenya in order to combat deforestation, stop soil erosion, and help generate income for women and their families. Florence was so inspired by what Wangari Maathai had achieved that she wanted to share this with her class and to encourage them to do what they can to help to
protect nature.

Florence has a genuine love of all types of nature and, in particular, the huge variety that can be found in Tarvin. This is why Florence is considered a very worthy winner of the Jim Grogan Countryside and Wildlife Award for 2021.

Ed: Click on the picture to enlarge it.

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