PRIDE in their village has earned a group of Darfield pupils a Young Champions nomination.
The five and six-year-olds in year one, class two at Upperwood Primary Academy have helped tidy the village and plant and maintain the war memorial on Church Street.
They work alongside the South Area Council’s Tidy Team and Upperwood assistant headteacher Carol Crossland said they often take their parents to see their work.
Carol said: “We have done a lot of litter picking over the past year all around the area and in the war memorial particularly. We have also done some leaf clearing and planted some winter pansies there too. We want the children to get involved in the community and have some respect for it too.
“We do a lot around Remembrance Day in school and it is very important to us, so the memorial is an ideal opportunity to do that sort of thing, help out and make them more aware of what it means.”
The children have also pitched in at the park on Barnsley Road and there are plans to continue their community involvement going forward.
“We were supposed to have a superhero-themed clean up last Friday but the weather made us postpone. But we will still be getting dressed up and helping out soon.
“We have quite a few members of the public stop and comment when they see what the children are up to and even had some stay along and help us out. It is lovely as it involves the community on the spot.
“Starting them off doing stuff like this aged five and six makes it so by the time they are teenagers, it is the norm to help out and take care of their environment.
“The Tidy Team work really well with them and one of the team members collects bugs and insects so we have helped release some caterpillars and ladybirds into the wild before too.
“I think we will be doing some more planting in the spring time.”
