Triplets take on 6km bike ride to help save the planet

Monday 06 February 2023

A trio of four-year-old siblings - who only recently learned how to cycle have completed a 6km bike ride along the Avenue to raise funds for a local tree-growing project.

Triplets Jasper, Primrose and Willow Bennett managed to raise over £130 to put towards compost for Potty Eco Pots' initiative.

Potty Eco Pots' founder, Kalina Le Marquand described the daring trio as "wonderful".

Pictured: The triplets raised over £130 for Potty Eco Pots.

"It's even more amazing as they've only just learned how to cycle," she said. "They managed to complete the whole 6km in 1 hour and 40 minutes!"

The money raised by the triplets will pay for around 20 bags of compost for Kalina to use for the tree-growing project.

She explained: "A hawthorn tree was recently cut down in the island, so I went and collected all of the berries to get the seeds from. The plan now is to use them to plant more hawthorn trees!"

Kalina explained that she was "taken by surprise" when Rebecca, the mum of the triplets, phoned her up to explain their fundraising plan.

She had met Jasper, Primrose and Willow when they had collected a tree each to grow - with Willow even receiving a willow tree to nurture!

The homeschooled trio came up with the idea for their sponsored bike ride after their mum encouraged them to tackle an environment-themed challenge.

Pictured: The trio managed to cycle six kilometres in an hour and 40 minutes.

The family previously made headlines in 2018 when islanders rallied to support the premature triplets, who were taken to the UK to receive life-saving treatment.

Then in 2020, parents Rebecca and Daniel made news for a different reason: their creativity in keeping the youngsters smiling throughout lockdown with a 'fairground carousel' made out of a washing line.

Reflecting on the now four-year-old trio's blossoming interest in green issues, Kalina said that she "loved seeing young people get involved" in local eco-friendly initiatives.

"They're the future," she said. "Children learn from what they're surrounded by!"