Pupil’s butterflies bring a splash of colour to Southwater bridge

Schoolchildren, Southwater Parish Council and The Butterfly Project of Horsham have joined forces for a new project aimed at bringing some colour to Southwater.
JPCT 061213 S13490294x The Butterfly Project, includes pupils at Southwater schools designed 30 butterflies and they will be displayed on the old railway bridge -photo by Steve CobbJPCT 061213 S13490294x The Butterfly Project, includes pupils at Southwater schools designed 30 butterflies and they will be displayed on the old railway bridge -photo by Steve Cobb
JPCT 061213 S13490294x The Butterfly Project, includes pupils at Southwater schools designed 30 butterflies and they will be displayed on the old railway bridge -photo by Steve Cobb

Dozens of butterflies, which were coloured or painted by pupils at schools in the village, were unveiled on Friday (December 6) at the old railway bridge off Worthing Road. They will be on permanent display on planters around the bridge and Lintot Square.

Pupils from Southwater Junior Academy, Southwater Infant Academy and Castlewood School participated in the project, which also features new bird and bat boxes and insect houses.

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Samuel Nunn, ten, was among the children whose butterfly design was featured .

JPCT 061213 S13490326x The Butterfly Project, includes pupils at Southwater schools designed 30 butterflies and they will be displayed on the old railway bridge. Mia Scott with her butterfly design -photo by Steve CobbJPCT 061213 S13490326x The Butterfly Project, includes pupils at Southwater schools designed 30 butterflies and they will be displayed on the old railway bridge. Mia Scott with her butterfly design -photo by Steve Cobb
JPCT 061213 S13490326x The Butterfly Project, includes pupils at Southwater schools designed 30 butterflies and they will be displayed on the old railway bridge. Mia Scott with her butterfly design -photo by Steve Cobb

He said: “I love that my butterfly is on here and on the bridge, it is cool.

“I think my family think that I have done well.”

Hundreds of pupils entered the parish council-organised competition to have their butterflies on display in the village and 30 winners were chosen.

As well as Southwater schools, the Butterfly Launch is connected to the Butterfly Project, based in Springfield Road, Horsham, which works with young people with learning difficulties.

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Sue Winn, headteacher of Southwater Infant Academy, said: “We are so delighted to be involved in it, the children love drawing and painting.

“We submitted 270 entries and the children are thrilled to see their pieces up on the bridge.

“We particularly love the bat boxes and insect houses because the children learn about ecology and the importance of wildlife, so it is great to see a project that involves everything they have been learning about.”

A number of parish councillors attended the unveiling, as well as Father Christmas, who took time out of his busy schedule to entertain the children.

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Peter Buckley, chairman of Southwater Parish Council, said: “When they developed Southwater we were left with a bridge which was a bit of an eyesore so we thought we would do something to make this a bit more attractive.

“We like to involve the community in all sorts of things, so to get the schools here is a great thing, and they have enjoyed it too.”

He expressed his hope that the butterflies would be on display for some time and would not be the target of vandalism.