Children bee-witched by wildlife are doing their bit

A SPRING clean has helped set up a dale school for the year ahead.
Parents and children of Butterknowle Primary School got their hands dirty by planting some bee-friendly flowers behind their school gates.
Others got the chance to do their bit with a litter pick around Butterknowle Village Hall.
Mandy Oliver, from the North Pennines AONB Partnership, has helped 13 youth groups across the dale learn about bees with funding from Teesdale Action Partnership.
She added: “The children have all learned lots about how bees are important to our countryside.
“We’ve lost two species of bumble bee since the Second World War because of changes in farming practices so they are really struggling at the minute.
“This is only a little thing but it will really help the bee population around here.”
Durham County Council teams joined with parents to help oversee the litter pick.
Headteacher Tessa Fenoughty said it was the first time the garden area had been maintained since her arrival.
She added: “I was keen to improve it but we had scaffolding up – now they are down it’s the perfect opportunity to sort it.”