Mullion pupils take their 'tern' helping local environment (From Falmouth Packet)

Mullion pupils take their 'tern' helping local environment

11:40am Sunday 15th July 2012 in News

Mullion School pupils have been taking their ‘tern’ in helping the environment in which they live.

Their efforts were celebrated at the unveiling of a new sculpture on the school grounds, which depicts a tern in flight – the school’s emblem.

This has been funded by donations from two village community groups, the Mullion in Bloom Association and Mullion Farmers Market, following a campaign of fundraising.

Headteacher Mike Sandford said: “Mullion School would like to thank both groups for their very generous donation.”

Freelance sculptor Phil Wood was appointed to design and create the sculpture of the tern. He said: “I have chosen to call it ‘Outward Flight’, symbolic of the job that a school has in preparing its ‘fledglings’ for life outside the nest.”

The school invited members of the community, including Councillor Carolyn Rule as well as representatives of Mullion in Bloom and Mullion Farmers Market, to help mark the unveiling.

At the same time they celebrated the work that students had done in helping the environment.

As a result of feedback given by the judges for the Mullion in Bloom competition in 2011 – who said they should try to make an impact on the environment – groups of pupils planned and carried out a fundraising activity to raise money for “something with an environmental outcome for the school.”

Students were able to choose what they wanted to buy, with items including a water butt, wild flower areas within the school, a plantation of trees, growing produce and a litter campaign.

Despite the rain pupils were not put on in making speeches at the celebration.

Aster Cordell and Charlotte Banfield opened the unveiling with touching words about Mullion School ethos.

Teacher Tanya Banfield said: “These pupils have worked tirelessly and with so much passion to make environmental connections both in and outside of the school.”