The Stocksfield Beavers have taken part in a series of activities at Stocksfield Station as part of the Platforms for Change initiative.
Platforms for Change empowers and engages Scout groups with community rail activity at stations, including art and gardening. The groups of young people are also given a rail safety talk in preparation for a trip on a train to help build travel confidence and awareness.
Stocksfield is the first station across the Tyne Valley region to work with a Scouts group in this way.
In the spring, Paul Vickers, station adoption lead, and Fiona Forsythe, Tyne Valley CRP officer, hosted the 1st Stocksfield Beavers at the station, and delivered an interactive rail safety workshop.
During the course of the evening, the idea for the Beavers to create some bug hotels came to life. Over the next few weeks, the Beavers walked from the Scout Hut to the station, looking at safe walking routes, and to advise where the bug hotels should be placed. They subsequently created six bug hotels, and helped Paul install them at the station.
The Beavers were awarded their Platforms for Change badges and returned to the station this autumn, finding to their delight that the first resident, a ladybird, had moved into the bug hotels.
Paul Vickers, Stocksfield Station Adoption Lead, said: “It was great to meet with the Beavers to explore how our railway station can play a part in preserving local wildlife. They were so enthusiastic about being involved and loved spying out locations for the bug hotels around the station.”
Beaver group leader Sarah Wing said: “The Beavers decided to create bug hotels for the local train station to support wildlife, but also as something nice for the local community to view. They worked in teams to research suitable habitats and searched at home and in the Scout Hut garden for materials, before spending hours arranging their pinecones, bark, sheep wool and other materials into hiding places for insects in their bug hotels.”
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from Tyne Valley CRP via their website.
