Green fingered youngsters from Largs primary schools are getting their hands dirty thanks to a new partnership with the town’s station gardens.

Pupils were invited down to see what the volunteers at the gardens get up to, and will be taking ownership of their own planters amongst other activities.

Volunteer Colin Golightly hopes the partnership can be beneficial for the school, the gardens and the whole community.

He said: “The children accompanied by parents, teachers and the headteacher Mrs Fisher loved seeing the two gardens beloved by townsfolk and much admired by the many visitors to Largs.

“Children were keen to see barrels which they will tend, do a little planting and decide where to build a bug hotel.

“The gardening club at the primary schools has really taken off in the past few years, so this is the next natural step.

“We have tried to work with pupils before but it has always been patchy, so hopefully this year we can forge a real partnership.”

Colin believes it is vital that the town’s youngsters are encouraged to get involved with gardening at an early age.

He explained: “The kids will take over a couple of barrels to plant, and we want them to start a bug hotel as well.

“This is the next step to making it a true community garden, where we have a whole range of ages involved.

“A lot of kids unfortunately aren’t interested in gardening these days, unless their parents are enthusiasts.

“It’s really nice to involve the next generation who will hopefully take over the community garden in the future.”

The volunteers are looking forward to a busy year, and are hoping to increase the awareness of the garden with local residents and visitors.

Colin added: “We have got one or two projects in the works, but we are keeping them under wraps for the moment.

“We will be trying to get fresh funding for those, and as a community garden we are normally quite successful with that.

“We are keen to promote our outdoor chess, which is available to play when the gardens are open and the volunteers are working.

“The kids from the school loved it so hopefully we can spread the word about it to the wider community.”