Young people dig deep to support memorial planting project
A group of young people have been making a difference in the community by volunteering to help replace hedging around a memorial that honours those who died during WW1.
The young people, all from SEND Socials Birmingham, reached out to Bournville Village Trust to ask if they could help with a project that would leave a legacy in the area.
Bournville Village Trust’s Grounds Maintenance team knew just the project – hedging at the Bournville Memorial Cross!
The hedging had suffered from an attack of Box Moth Caterpillar last year, leaving it in a very poor condition and unlikely to recover. This weakened state also increases the chances of it being affected by Box Blight, another pest and disease which can kill off the plants.
Neil Towle, Head of Grounds Maintenance at Bournville Village Trust, said: “We made the decision to replace the plants with another native that can be found locally, English Yew. This should give the same neat and compact appearance residents are used to seeing around the memorial as they start to take shape.”
SEND Socials Birmingham provide social opportunities for neurodivergent young people and family support through a range of programmes. For more information, please go to www.sendsocialsbirmingham.co.uk
Situated on Sycamore Road, the Bournville Memorial Cross honours the brave Bournville soldiers who died during WW1 and was funded by people living in the village.
It was unveiled on 25 July 1923 by Dame Elizabeth Cadbury at a ceremony led by local clergy. In October 2000, it was proposed the lettering and inscriptions on the memorial, which had become eroded over time, be re-cut.
A fundraising appeal was launched and over £14,300 was raised to restore it. In 2016, it was given Grade II listed status.
Bournville Village Trust is committed to managing environmentally sustainable estates, including the Bournville Estate. It is one of the Midlands longest serving independent charitable trusts and provides services in central and south Birmingham and Telford, including in Lawley and Lightmoor Village, to over 9,000 households