CHILDREN from Colebrook Junior School had a unique lesson on the environment during a visit to a housing development.

Pupils learned about green materials at Redrow Homes' Abbey Manor site in Priory Vale.

The 10 and 11-year-olds were given a packed lunch while they studied the open spaces and sustainable materials which are being used.

Sandra Hughes, area sales manager for Redrow Homes, said: "We use sustainable timber in all our joists and floors at the development so we were able to show the pupils how new homes in their area are environmentally friendly.

"We are surrounded by a vale of hedgerows and we have incorporated plenty of open spaces into the development for our customers to take advantage of."

Mary Swaffield, the literacy co-ordinator and upper school teacher at Colebrook, said: "The children were fascinated by the build process and particularly interested in the environmentally friendly materials used by the construction team at Redrow.

"We are studying where materials are sourced from and how they are incorporated into the design of the homes at Abbey Manor.

"Local planning and environmental issues and how open spaces have to be included in the development were also included in our lessons.

"They thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were big fans of Redrow Homes."

Redrow has worked with Colebrook Junior School previously under the auspices of the Redrow Schools Partnership, a National Trust initiative that brought together schools from urban and rural areas to work together on arts based projects at their local Trust property.

The house builder also operates an online learning resource for primary and secondary school children, the Redrow Learning Web, which supports the National Curriculum and includes a teachers' support centre.

l The Advertiser launched the Time To Change campaign in November, with the aim of highlighting how everybody can take easy steps towards reducing the amount of energy they use, reduce their impact on the environment and minimise their contribution to climate change.