DEVOTED youngsters have won the praise of their teachers after caring for wildlife in an Acomb park.

Year 6 pupils at Acomb Primary School installed bird feeders, decorated nesting boxes, made a bird bath and cleared the pond and pathways around West Bank Park as part of a school project.

Their dedication to that cause has seen them nominated for Community Pride's Primary School Project of the Year.

The clean-up was part of a Community Action project, organised by the Archbishop of York Trust's Young Leaders Award, and orchestrated by Year 6 teachers Kerry Johnson and Amber Shanahan.

However, it was the children who came up with the various animal-friendly projects.

Mrs Johnson, who nominated the children, said: "Our Year 6 children have been taking part in the Young Leaders Award.

"They have embraced the ethos behind the award and have completed many activities to better our school and local community.

"The pupils also raised £250 by selling cakes and other creative items in their own time and after school. The money was used to hire an incubator housing 12 eggs.

"The whole school loved watching the eggs hatch into chicks, holding and taking care of them. It was a huge success.

"The children also visited West Bank Park and decided on different aspects of the park to improve.

"They have worked extremely hard making bird feeders, bird houses, a bird bath, insect hotels, clearing paths of leaves, clearing ponds and collecting litter. The children even wrote a letter to the council to report offensive graffiti and the council are removing it. Success!"

More than 22,000 youngsters from 220 schools take part in the Young Leaders Award.

The Community Action project encourages children to take more responsibility and carry out various tasks both at home and inside the classroom.

This saw the Year 6 pupils bake cakes for charities close to their home, emptying neighbours' bins and picking up litter.

Community Pride is run by The Press and City of York Council, and the principal sponsor is Benenden.

All nominees must live in, or contribute to life in, the City of York Council area. Around three finalists from each category will be invited to the awards ceremony at York Racecourse in October, when the winners will be revealed.

You can make a nomination online at yorkpress.co.uk/communitypride/. Entries must be submitted by Friday, July 17.