SCHOOLCHILDREN who sketched designs for a new meadow have been helping to bring it to life by sowing wildflower seeds.

Four pupils from Rufforth Primary School helped to plant the wildflowers at the new York Community Woodland site.

City of York Council plans to plant 50,000 trees on the 194-acre land to the west of York by spring 2023 as part of its net carbon zero goals.

Under the plans, a wood meadow will be planted at the site with the help of the Woodmeadow Trust and a local farmer.

The council invited Rufforth Primary School pupils to design how the meadow would look and the four winning drawings are now on display in a noticeboard at the York Community Woodland site.

Cllr Paula Widdowson said: “Our long-term vision is to create a varied, biodiverse habitat full of woodland plants and animals.

“The sowing of the woodmeadow is one of the first steps towards achieving this and it’s wonderful to see local schoolchildren getting involved in the project at this early stage.”