Local school children have helped to bury a time capsule remembering the Covid-19 pandemic in South Gloucestershire.
Pupils from Raysfield Primary School, in Chipping Sodbury and Little Stars nursery at St Barnabas Primary School, in North Common, joined the council’s Covid response team at a special ceremony on Thursday (31 March).
The children had contributed to the time capsule with items including pictures, photographs and their own memories of lockdowns, home schooling and the kind acts they did during the pandemic. Many other schools also sent in items to be included and items were submitted from local businesses, care homes, community groups, town councils and churches. They included awards brochures, photo albums taken during lockdown, badges, painted pebbles, a handmade rainbow and poems.
Other items included in the capsule, which has been buried outside the council’s offices at Badminton Road, are materials produced by the council during Covid such as posters, flyers, postcards, bags, pens and social media campaign images. A timeline, detailing national restrictions and our local response, was also produced.
Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Cllr Toby Savage, said: “The time capsule gives us a chance to reflect and remember and provide social history for future generations.
“It is two years since we first went into lockdown. In that time, in South Gloucestershire, we have double vaccinated over 83 per cent of everyone aged over 12, PCR tested a quarter of a million people and handed out nearly 75,000 lateral flow testing kits.
“We have come together during this pandemic and supported one another. It has been the hardest of times, but also made us stronger. Now is a time to look forward and recognise what we can achieve as a community, to build upon the relationships formed between partners and organisations, to deliver and support each other for the benefit of all our residents.”
Director of Public Health for South Gloucestershire, Sara Blackmore, said: “We have been part of the national journey, but we have also experienced our own unique moments in South Gloucestershire, including two rounds of surge testing with a fantastic response from the community, and an incredible uptake of the vaccine.
“We are still living with Covid and need to continue to focus on living safely and on prevention, but this is a chance for us to reflect on that journey and think about how we move forward, building on that resilience and the kindness we have shown so much of during the last two years.”
“That means still giving people space, wearing a mask in a crowded place, taking time off work and school if you have symptoms and getting vaccinated when invited. Let’s build on all of the helpful practices we’ve put in place over the last two years to help contain the spread.”
The capsule is marked by a plaque and is due to be opened in 30 years.
The council has also created an online book of memories to provide a space for everyone to share their stories of the pandemic and help us all reflect on the last two years. You can contribute by visiting the website at https://beta.southglos.gov.uk/south-gloucestershire-remembers-covid-19
