St Michael's pupils learn visit Paragon Veterinary Group

Twenty-four reception class pupils from St Michael’s Primary School planted water plants at the pond in the vets’ staff wellbeing garden earlier this week.

Last year children from the school helped create the garden and this was the latest step to see how the garden had successfully developed.

SMILES: All round from reception class.

Reception teacher Janet McArdle said the four and five-year-olds had been visited by a vet earlier in the week and loved their trip to the pond.

"They were really excited about walking to the vets. I think the fact that the vet had been in the day before meant there was that really strong link about where they were going.

"When the vet came into school we had lots of activities with the children who got to bandage up a dog - not a real dog - and dressed up as vets.

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"We had lots of parent volunteers and as we walked up the vets they got to explore the environment and then some of the children planted into the newly created pond - it links in really well with what we've been teaching in school" she said. 

Veterinary surgeon Laura Binnie said: "I think it's important to engage with the local school children to teach them about looking after our environment and how to encourage wildlife into our gardens.

"If they learn this from a young age its more likely they will grow up more aware about how they can look after the natural world around them.

"Our planet is facing a biodiversity crisis and it's their generation that will see the impacts of this, sadly, so the more ambassadors for biodiversity we can encourage the better.

"It's about planting the seed, literally and figuratively," she said. 

Teacher Mrs McArdle said they hope to be able to revisit the pond in the future.

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