More than 44,000 spring flowering bulbs have been planted by primary school children in locations across the borough as part of Sefton’s Borough of Culture celebrations.

The huge number of bulbs dug into the ground almost replicates a bulb for every primary school child in Sefton.

The crocus and daffodil bulbs have been planted during November and December through the council’s Green Sefton team and will burst into life next spring during the Borough of Culture year.

Some of the sites involved in the planting are: North Park, Bootle; Crescent Garden, Alexandra Park and Moorside Park all in Crosby; Victoria Park, Waterloo; Botanic Gardens, Preston New Road, Bedford Park, King’s Gardens, Devonshire Road and Ainsdale Village park, all in Southport; Merrilocks Park, Blundellsands; Marian Square Gardens, Netherton; and Mellanear Park, Litherland.

The primary schools involved include All Saints, St Edmonds, St Thomas, Linacre Primary, St Monica’s, Ursuline Primary, Great Crosby, Churchtown, Hillside Park, St Elizabeth’s, Lander Road, Christ Church, St Oswald’s and St Mary’s prep.

The Borough of Culture (BoC) title is awarded by the Liverpool City Region’s Combined Authority to one of its six local authorities (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral) on a rotating, annual basis.

2019 is currently Wirral’s year while 2020 will be dedicated to Sefton with a raft of new, existing and community-led events planned for the year.

The focus of Sefton’s year will be on stories, looking at two key elements – local history and the environment.

Mark Shaw, from Green Sefton, said: “The activity is to help highlight the launch of the Borough of Culture and to celebrate the wonderful parks and green spaces we have in Sefton.

“Through our Green Sefton Rangers, we have planted more than 44,000 bulbs and believe the planting is a great way to get school children interested and passionate about their environment.

“During 2020 we will watch the bulbs spring to live adding beautiful colour to our amazing parks and green spaces as part of our Borough of Culture year and they’ll keep on flowering for many years to come.”