One of our volunteer group, now headmistress of Morehall Primary School – asked if she could bring a group of children along to the cemetery to help with litter picking – we were only too happy to oblige.
After some weeks of planning to ensure all safety issues were considered – earlier this week a group of around 30 primary school children visited the old Folkestone cemetery with their teachers and teachers assistants. They arrived fully armed with litter pickers and enthusiasm.
As they wandered around looking for litter – it appeared that there wasn’t much to pick up – so the children were divided into smaller groups and delegated a number of other tasks including: filling up now unused rabbit holes, raking pine-needles from tree in the centre, watering shrubs in the White Garden – and other tasks – which they completed wonderfully well under the watchful supervision of the teaching staff and cemetery volunteers led by Carole.
They were a friendly and happy group of children and when they had completed their tasks they asked if they could visit the graves of the Tull family, as they had heard about Walter Tull an English professional footballer and British Army officer of Afro-Caribbean descent – so with Carole leading the way she took them straight to the Tull family graves.
It was very encouraging to listen to the interesting questions the children asked – and we hope they may visit again with their friends or parents so we can show them more of Folkestones history in this old cemetery.
