A SIX-FOOT tall Seeds of Hope monument has been unveiled by Cllr Andrew Bowles, leader of Swale Borough Council, at a housing development in Iwade.

Built by Hillreed Homes as a centrepiece to its environmentally friendly and award-winning development, Orchard Edge, the monument was created by local sculptor Will Glanfield.

It contains a time capsule which has been filled by children between the ages of seven and 11 from Iwade School. The children were asked to draw, paint or write about life in Iwade in 2003. The perception is interesting, their young eyes seeing life quite differently to that of adults.

The contents of the capsule will be discovered in years to come when through natural disintegration, it becomes accessible.

Headmistress Audrey Burnige said: “Hillreed has given us an opportunity to offer the children an invaluable experience.

“The students have been involved from the start with the making of the bricks and the adding of the contents is another contribution which has been a totally new and exciting experience for them.”

Will Glanfield held a meeting with villagers, giving them an opportunity to reminisce and express their feelings about the new development.

He said: “I felt it was an important element of the project to tune into real lives of real people and was very interested to hear stories of life in the village when they were young. The tape lasts 45 minutes and is unedited. I wrapped it in an airtight bag together with the names of those who contributed.”

Tony Hillier, of Hillreed Homes, said: “Orchard Edge is an on-going project that is growing and changing all the time, one from which we are learning.”