School children from Hessle have been involved in some wild art at Bridgehead Business Park.
The Wykeland Group, the Hull based developer behind Bridgehead, invited All Saints Primary School and Hessle High School to take part in the “A Home for Nature” project.
A Home for Nature was created to connect Bridgehead with the local community and create art work for the woodland nature trail that leads around the business park. The trail will eventually encircle the entire site on both sides of the A15.
Working with local artist Liz Dorton, children have been busy creating a giant bird’s nest measuring 10ft across using a dead hedge technique; weaving twigs and branches around branch ‘pillars’ in two concentric circles and filling with wood.
Other projects have included large mosaic eggs for the nest, bird-boxes and insect hotels. The A Home for Nature project has liaised closely with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The Trust has advised on the habitat needs of birds, insects and small mammals, to ensure that all of the newly designed homes will support wildlife to flourish.
Tom Cannon, Project Manager at Wykeland, visited the group from All Saints while they were busy completing the nest, and was impressed by their level of enthusiasm.
He said: “I would have loved to have done something like this as a child, it is such an exciting project. It is really encouraging to see the level of engagement from the children, and the quality of the nest is just fantastic. I can’t wait to see it complete with the eggs and bird boxes in place.
“A development is more than just putting concrete in the ground. Here at Bridgehead, we have set out to create a green environment, not just in relation to the environmental technologies within the buildings but also in terms of the biodiversity in the landscaping.
“The nature trail is providing an improved working environment. Barely two minutes from your desk is a meandering footpath through woodland. The art installations will offer that perfect finishing touch, and for that I thank the children, teachers and Liz for all their hard work.”
The art project has drawn inspiration from architect F Hundertwasser, Dr Seuss, the film set of Where the Wild Things Are, and installations by US sculptor Pat Doughty. The Bridgehead bird nest has been built by the children from All Saints and students from Hessle High School.
Toni Southern, teaching assistant at All Saints leading the group has been proud of the amount the children have learnt while involved with the project.
“It has been great to be involved with the project, and the children have enjoyed it a lot,” said Ms Southern. “The kids don’t think they are learning but when other people ask them how the project is going, they have fountains of knowledge. All of them have picked up new skills.”
Elaine Burke, Arts Consultant for Wykeland, is glad to see the impact A Home for Nature has had for both the schools and Bridgehead.
She said: “Wykeland really understands the powerful impacts that arts projects can have. The project is all about inspiring the next generation of young people to have confidence in themselves and their creations, raise their aspirations, be entrepreneurial and extend into their community.
“Teachers are seeing pupils make great strides in all of these areas, and the project is proving a huge success. Wykeland has an enviable track record over the years as a supporter of the arts, and is now leading the field in developing ever more imaginative and innovative ways to use the arts to connect with communities and make a difference.”
Located just off the Humber Bridge roundabout adjoining the A15 and the A614, the Bridgehead Business Park is one of the “greenest” business parks in the north of England and the landscape and biodiversity strategy was designed through a unique partnership with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
During the creation of the park, Wykeland Group has planted over 8,000 shrubs and hedgerows, 4,500 herbs and bulbs and more than 200 trees. The nature trail in the northern part of the development will be launched in April.
