SCHOOLCHILDREN in the Clay Country have been helping minerals giant Imerys with a major nature restoration project.

Year 5 pupils from Whitemoor Primary Academy have taken part in forest creation at mined-out china clay works which have been refilled and replanted and will eventually be opened up to further public access.

Across the winter, more than 150,000 trees have been planted in an area known as Dubbers - the Cornish word for a flat-ended pick used by clay workers in the past.

The area is near the Littlejohns pit which is the largest kaolin quarry in the world and which continues to export the mineral around the world for use in products from toothpaste to paint, ceramics and cosmetics.

Imerys has been restoring the area for several years with more than 75 hectares just outside the village of Nanpean now complete.

After backfilling with tailings (rocks and sand), compostable-type material is mixed with sand and used to create a new soil layer. This is then sprayed with a mix of grass and wildflower seeds, creating a biodiverse habitat.

Thanks to funds from Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and the Forestry Commission, Imerys has been able to push ahead with creating a forest of the future on the restored land.

Mark Hewson, who leads Imerys in the UK, said: “Restoring historical mining land is a huge part of our work here in Cornwall. This land has been mined for kaolin - china clay - for over 250 years. It’s our responsibility to return the land to the condition it would have been in pre-mining - and ultimately provide as much access as safely possible to the local community.

“We were delighted to be able to invite Whitemoor Year 5s along to help us with this work. They did a great job and we hope they will be proud to tell their own children some day about their role in planting a new forest in the Clay Country!”

Head teacher Gemma Hooper said: “We had a great time; it’s fantastic for us to be able to work with the wider community in this way. Many of our pupils come from families with a long history of working in the china clay pits, and so there is already an interest.”

Imerys waste recycling and planning manager Sean Simpson looks after the project and was delighted to host the pupils at Dubbers.

He said: “The children were very enthusiastic. They each planted a selection of trees, chosen from native broadleaf species, such as sessile oak, wild cherry, sycamore and common alder, and silver birch and mixed conifer, including sitka spruce, Corsican pine and Scots pine - which is in keeping with what we know would have grown here in the past.”

Local ecologist Bob Bosisto told the pupils about the animals he studies at the site.

He said: “We talked to the children about the sort of species already living here at Dubbers - including the very rare dormice - and I explained how we study these lovely creatures.”