GROWING Our Future, Okehampton's unique gardening project, will be welcoming renowned artist Jethro Brice into their midst for a week's residency.

Growing Our Future, a community garden project located at Okehampton College, is aiming to inspire, stimulate and educate, not just the students, but the wider community.

Jehtro will be working with the project from tomorrow (Friday) to Friday, December 5.

He will be working with Growing Our Future to make and install a series of hand-made bird feeders for the project's gardens at the college.

A full week's programme is planned that will include work with Bicton College students Jamie Beer and Adrian Gunner as well as North Tawton Primary School, Okehampton Primary School and Sixth Form art students from Okehampton College.

The bird feeders will be made using recycled and reclaimed materials from in and around Okehampton, particularly Proper Job in Chagford and the recycling centre in Okehampton.

Jethro will also be conducting research into the habitat of birds around Okehampton College as well as looking at how the routes of migratory birds are affected by communication signals, microwaves and changing climate patterns.

Children from reception and year 1 at Okehampton and North Tawton Primary School will tomorrow help to source local ingredients for the bird feeders and giving their input into the design.

Then throughout the week, after the design is finalised, the bird feeders will be made and a DIY guide to building a bird feeder will be produced and sent out to the Okehampton community.

At the end of the residency, next Friday, Jethro and Growing Our Future artist residency co-ordinator Beth Hamer will host celebrating the installation of the new hand-made bird feeders.

Between 8.30am and 10.30am the bird feeders will be installed and ten primary school children will be shown around the gardens.

This will be followed by a guided tour and presentation on the importance of bio-diversity and wildlife conservation between 11am and 1pm. There will then be a 'pot luck winter picnic' with a special garden fire.

Growing Our Future was the brainchild of Beth Hamer, who was born in Okehampton before studying at Glasgow School of Art and travelling widely through Europe, Africa and America.

For further information contact Beth on 07796 597897 or the Growing Our Future team on 07903 121146.