Bee orchids: Bury Primary School pupils thrilled to see native orchids spring up on school field

Every year, a strip of land at Bury CE Primary School is left unmown to encourage wildflowers, which invite a variety of pollinators to visit.

Headteacher Thomas Moore said there was real excitement this year when an orchid leaf rosette was spotted and eager eyes watched to see what would appear.

He said: “Our caretaker, Mrs Maynard, put a marker near the rosette and patiently waited. Roll on a couple of months and we have now been treated to a superb display from our bee orchid.

“And once we had spotted one, we have slowly been spotting others dotted around the school field margins. We have at least ten in various locations and are now hoping they set seed and we end up with many, many more in future years.

“The children were given the chance to have a really close-up look at one of arguably our most stunning native flowers.

“We are very keen to learn about and conserve nature wherever possible. We strongly believe that by giving the children an appreciation and understanding of the natural world around them now, they will ensure it still exists for future generations.”

The school has its own hive of honey bees and the team of young beekeepers has already had its first harvest. The honey was all extracted by hand by the children, under the watchful eye of teaching assistant Giles Gatrell and supported when needed by village beekeeper Kathy Haigh from Bury Bees.