Redwood School children create stumpery at Denehurst Park

Children and staff from Redwood School are joined by Council staff creating a stumpery at Denehurst Park

Children from Redwood School in Rochdale were joined by volunteers and council staff to create a tree stump feature in Denehurst park.

The children planted a mixture of plants including ferns, foxgloves, hostas, hellebore, primrose, epimedium and bluebells around the base of a 100-year-old beech tree which had recently fallen in the park due to its age.

After their hard work planting the children enjoyed a well-earned break in the play area.

Gardens like the one created by the children are known as stumperies. They are similar to rockeries but use parts of dead trees instead of rocks. The pieces are arranged artistically and plants, typically ferns, mosses and lichens are encouraged to grow around or on them.

The stumpery provides a feature for the park and also a habitat for several types of wildlife, having been known to host stag beetles, toads and small mammals.

The first stumpery was built in 1856 at Biddulph Grange and they remained popular in Victorian Britain.

Councillor Neil Emmott, the council’s cabinet member for housing and environment, said: "It is great to see volunteers, council staff and of course local school children enjoying the park and working together to create such an interesting feature here at Denehurst.

"The community is really coming together as we continue to work on what will be a fantastic transformation of the park.”