A BARRY primary school has been gifted decorative bumble bees and eco crafts from a major shopping centre in a lovely gesture.
St David’s Cardiff adorned its malls with a bee-themed floral display this summer for its ‘Bee the Change’ campaign.
Now the campaign has come to an end, the centre’s bumble bees have found a new home at a new bee-themed wellbeing and nurture room at Jenner Park Primary School in Barry.
St David’s has also donated a selection of its eco crafts so pupils can create their own bug hotels and bee feeders, paint flowerpots and plant wildflower seeds.
Nicknamed ‘The Hive’, pupils at the school helped to decorate their wellbeing room which opened this term.
The Hive welcomes children from across the school for individual wellbeing sessions, focusing on a range of themes from social skills and friendship to anxiety and feelings.
Sessions include a mix of games, reading and activities as well as simply providing a safe, quiet space and a listening ear.
Ian Hawkins, teaching assistant and ELSA (emotional literacy support assistant) at Jenner Park Primary, said: “The Hive is a safe space created for children where they can have one-to-one support and can feel safe to discuss anything they may need to.
“We try to make sure that the children who come in for sessions are given the time needed to feel better about what is going on for them.
“As a new space we’ve introduced for this academic year, we wanted this room to be totally different from the rest of the school and the children have gone wild for the bee theme – the colours even match our school uniform.
“When I visited St David’s, I couldn’t believe it when I saw all the bees on the display and how much our pupils would love them.
“After telling the St David’s team about The Hive, they were more than happy to donate their bees and crafts to us and it’s fantastic to have their support.”
Designed to support the plight of the nation’s bumble bees, the Bee the Change campaign saw more than 4,500 guests enjoy an eco-craft activity at St David’s throughout the summer with more than 5,000 bee-saving pledges made.
Helen Morgan, centre director of St David’s Cardiff, said: “We loved the idea of The Hive and the facility it provides for school children.
“It is an absolute pleasure to donate our decorative bees and eco crafts from our Bee the Change campaign where they can be enjoyed in such an inspiring place.”
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