Benefice of Kirkby and Great Broughton, Ingleby Greenhow, Kildale and Bilsdale
As a benefice eco-project, following on from similar projects in previous years, our committee invited the four church schools , 3 in our benefice and 1 in Carlton benefice (Chop Gate and Carlton are confederated) to take part in a Sunflower Challenge over the Easter holidays – decorating a paper plate on the theme of the sunflower, and writing a few words to describe it. To widen the theme, we invited a local Ukrainian boy, currently at Hutton Rudby school, to introduce the project in each of the schools. Mark, aged 9, spoke to around 250 of his peers over two lots of morning assemblies. He described how the sunflower has special significance for Ukraine since the Ukrainian yellow-and-blue flag symbolises sunflowers and sky. He also answered questions about the war, and told how the dam that was blown up and caused huge flooding had one remarkable environmental result: flamingos came to nest in Ukraine for the first time ever, and have returned again this year. It was very moving to hear such a positive story from the tragedy of war. The Sunflower Challenge will be exhibited and each school will receive a packet of sunflower seeds to grow over the coming months.
Stokesley Deanery 