A TOURING bell, which is making its way around UK schools to raise awareness of a national art project, has found a temporary home in town.

The Mayflower Primary School in Harwich is now hosting a replica Time and Tide Bell at its entrance.

The Time and Tide project, which was the idea of Marcus Vergette, was created in 2009 to raise awareness of climate change by installing a number of bronze bells around the UK coast.

The bells are given for free and one of them will be installed in Harwich to highlight the historical importance of the town.

A replica bell, which is touring schools around the country, is now causing excitement at the Mayflower Primary School to get everyone talking about the project.

The bell made its way from Happisburgh, Norfolk, and Libby Scarfe,46, who runs Seaside Explorers and manages the project locally, is hoping to fire up children’s interest.

She said: “The whole idea is to raise awareness of rising sea levels and make people think about the climate change.

"I loved the idea of getting children involved. It will improve their connection with their town and environment.

"This is a national project so it also creates connections with other towns involved in having the bell."

Gazette: Libby also helped set up a toy box library scheme in HarwichLibby also helped set up a toy box library scheme in Harwich

The actual bell will be given for free to the Harwich community, but a strong community spirit will be needed to cover some additional costs.

By putting the replica on display at the Mayflower Primary School, Libby is hoping to inspire everyone to help.

She said: “As community we have to find the money to pay for the construction of the mounting and the installation of the mounting to support the bell and house it.

“This could be between £5,00 and £10,000. “

Liz Bartholemew, headteacher at the Mayflower Primary School, is hoping to spark student’s interest by doing class work dedicated on the bell.

She said: “We are very excited to be housing the bell while on its journey around the UK.

“We love getting involved with the local community, that’s why I jumped at the chance to have the bell here.

“We will be the only school in Harwich to have the bell.

“The students are quite young so they don’t understand its significance. That’s why we want them to see the replica now and have the rest of the term to learn about it.

“Then they will have a better understanding of the real one when it gets installed in Harwich.

To donate to the Harwich Time and Tide Bell, message Libby Scarfe on Facebook.

Visit timeandtidebell.org for more.