September 30, 2015 11.23 am This story is over 101 months old

Creative Lincoln students make their mark on nature reserve

Woodland designs: A group of Lincoln students are being praised for their work creating new signs for Whisby Nature Park.

Lincoln design and technology students are in demand after a successful project to design visitor signs at a local nature park.

Pupils from Sir Robert Pattinson Academy took a special commission from Whisby Nature Reserve to design, make and install new signs for the centre.

Year 9 design and technology students at the school spent nearly 100 hours working on nine new signs to be used in and around the education centre.

The pupils, led by teachers Gareth Jones and Donna Jones, designed the signage on computers before crafting them out of European oak.

They were then painted in water-based wood dye and oil-free varnish and were installed by the students around the education centre last week (Thurs 24th).

The signs were designed to help visitors recognise the various areas around the reserve and included The Orchard, The Log Pile, The Old Fire Pit, The Meadow, The Willow Coppice, The Birches, The Dipping Pond, The Ashes and The Wildlife Garden.

Now the students look set to take on another challenging commission for the reserve – designing and building special bird feeding stations ready for the winter.

“The staff and students involved in this project have done a fantastic job,” said headteacher Helen Renard.

“To have designed, engineered and installed these products in such a professional manner is a great example of what we strive to achieve at the school.

“We recognise that all our pupils are unique and have different skills and those that are focused on the world of work are as significant as academic achievements. What is important is that we help all our pupils fulfil their potential.”