The Co-operative on the Isle of Man and Manx Wildlife Trust have announced the winners of an art competition which challenged children to design new collection boxes, to help raise funds for the nature conservation charity. The four winning artists have now seen their creations come to life as Godfrey Pitts has hand-painted the boxes ready to be installed in Co-operative Food stores on the Island. They also received copies of wildlife-related handbooks as a thank you for their efforts. There were three winners from St Thomas’ Church of England School in Douglas. Freya Cullen impressed judges with her array of wildlife including a basking shark, a long tailed tit, a ladybird and a hedgehog. Her design will be on display in The Co-operative Food store in Woodbourne Road, Douglas. Emily Sayle and Joseph Brady’s talents were combined as the sea and the shore were brought together, with Emily’s flowers and bees being used, and Joseph’s dolphin and octopus. Their box will be decorating the counter at The Co-operative Food store in Peel. The fourth winner was Ryan Aitken from Ashley Hill School, Onchan, who designed a box showing bats roosting and in flight, which will be installed at The Co-operative Food store in Christian Street, Ramsey. This is the first time The Co-operative has teamed up with the Manx Wildlife Trust on a schools project since the inception of a dedicated Co-operative Membership team that was set up for the Isle of Man in 2009. Anne Marie Kilgallon, Fundraising Officer for the Manx Wildlife Trust, co-ordinated the project. She said: “We have been genuinely impressed with all the artwork that was submitted as part of this competition, which showed a good and varied understanding of wildlife that exists on or around the Island. “Congratulations to all our winners, and I hope they are able to visit the stores where their boxes will be on display with pride.” Chris Boyd, Membership Manager for The Co-operative on the Isle of Man, said: “This project has been a fantastic collaboration between ourselves and the Manx Wildlife Trust, and I’m sure the attractive and brightly coloured boxes will generate interest among our customers, and hopefully encourage them to donate generously to the wildlife charity.” Following this initial partnership, The Co-operative has extended its support to the Manx Wildlife Trust’s education programme, by donating ?425 to the charity to buy rock pooling and pond dipping equipment. ENDS