New rain garden opened

A new Rain Garden has opened at Llanfyllin High School, which acts as a multi-functional Sustainable Drainage System, made possible by the Arwain River Friendly Severn Project.

It was part of a day at the High School which saw the Severn Rivers Trust teaming up with Andri Magnason, writer of the internationally acclaimed Blue Planet Story (http://www.andrimagnason.com/books/the-story-of-the-blue-planet/).

The head of literacy organised a series of workshops for Year 10, and one for pupils of Year Six from Llanfyllin Primary School. The workshops were part of an environmental arts day centred around the new Rain Garden which culminated in a presentation of poetry, theatre and literature by the students.

Lisa Barlow of the Severn Rivers Trust said: “Pupils from the Llanfyllin High School Eco Committee worked with us at Severn Rivers Trust to identify localised flooding issues at the school and then designed a solution in the form of the new Rain Garden. It is built of stone with a metalwork covering designed by Design & Technology students at the High School and made by Stokes of Oswestry. We could not be more pleased with the outcome.”

The Mayor Cllr Simon Baynes added: “This is a great initiative by Llanfyllin High School, the Severn Rivers Trust and Arwain and has been enthusiastically received by pupils at the High School. Practical examples of environmentally friendly projects like the Rain Garden are the best way to teach young people how to save the planet for future generations.”

PICTURE: Official opening of the Rain Garden at Llanfyllin High School with the Mayor of Llanfyllin, Headteacher Dewi Owen, Deputy Headteacher, Llyr Thomas, and four representatives of the Severn Rivers Trust: Lisa Barlow, Dewi Morris, Andy Green and Jeffrey Olstead. The pupils were from Year 6 - Hailey Davies, Eleanor Dalmer and Emmy Nazar – and from Year 10: Shannon Jones, Georgia Jones and Tom Morris.