Pupils who helped plant crocuses as part of the Rotary’s campaign to stamp out polio were happy to see their efforts pay off.

The Comet: Crocuses planted by pupils from Longmeadow school as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs.Crocuses planted by pupils from Longmeadow school as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2017)

Stevenage’s two Rotary clubs worked with children at Longmeadow Primary School and Moss Bury Primary School to plant more than 7,000 bulbs at flower beds prepared by Stevenage Borough Council in Shephalbury Park and Meredith Road.

The purple colour of the bulbs signifies the colour of the mark made when people are being vaccinated against the disease which has been eradicated from all countries except Afghanistan and Pakistan, largely thanks to Rotary’s global End Polio campaign.

Alex Lang of the Rotary Club of Stevenage said the pupils were “brilliant” when they planted the bulbs and “very excited” to see them flowering.

“It’s a way of helping others less fortunate than themselves and it important for children to know about polio.” he said.

The Comet: Pupils from Longmeadow school with the crocuses they planted as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs.Pupils from Longmeadow school with the crocuses they planted as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2017)

The Comet: Pupils from Longmeadow school with the crocuses they planted as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs.Pupils from Longmeadow school with the crocuses they planted as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2017)

The Comet: Pupils from Longmeadow school with the crocuses they planted as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs.Pupils from Longmeadow school with the crocuses they planted as part of the End Polio Now campaign in conjunction with Stevenage and Stevenage Grange rotary clubs. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2017)