The Waddle-on-Sea art trail, created by Havens Hospices in partnership with Wild in Art, features 31 large penguin sculptures and 72 baby sculptures in Southend-on-Sea and Leigh-on-Sea.

The baby penguins are part of the Waddle-on-Sea Community & Learning Programme, sponsored by Rickard Luckin, and are integral to the success of the art trial. Each one is designed by a local school, youth group or community project, making them completely unique, with their own personalities and names.

The school began the project with a design competition open to every pupil, receiving an overwhelming response of over 150 entries. The winning design, embodying the school’s cherished Golden Values, was brought to life by five pupils from each class who collaborated to paint the penguin in vibrant colours. Named ‘Golden Leigh,’ the penguin reflects the school’s identity with its brown tartan skirt, brown jumper, and gold shirt. Colourful figures on its tummy celebrate previous creative projects, while a notepad tucked under its flipper represents empathy, responsibility, and integrity.

In addition to adopting their penguin, West Leigh Junior School’s pupils came together to fundraise for Havens Hospices, the charity behind Waddle-on-Sea. Havens Hospices provides free specialist care and support for babies, children, young people and adults living with incurable conditions across Essex, ensuring they and their families receive the help they need, when they need it most. This vital care is only possible thanks to donations and community fundraising initiatives like Waddle-on-Sea.

Each class at the school planned and took part in its own sponsored event, including a water fight, dressing up day, dodgeball in the dark, and a school ‘waddle’. The activities were all timetabled for one dedicated day, using locations across the school, including the hall, playground and classrooms, creating a real buzz of excitement from start to finish.

Through these events, pupils collected sponsorship from friends and family, raising an incredible £5,010.64 to support local hospice care.

Faye Vince, Community & Learning Programme Lead at Havens Hospices, says, “We’ve been blown away by the creativity, enthusiasm and generosity shown by the pupils and staff at West Leigh Junior School. Not only have they designed a beautiful penguin for the trail, but they’ve also thrown themselves into some truly fun and imaginative fundraising activities. Every pound they’ve raised will help us continue providing care for local families when they need it most.”

The mini-huddles of baby penguins are on display across the trail until Wednesday 3 September, bringing colour, creativity and community spirit to the area.

Trail-goers can join in on the fun by purchasing a map from any Havens Hospices charity shop (while stocks last), or from other locations including the Pier Information Centre, The Forum, Leigh-on-Sea Library, and the Waddle-on-Sea HQs at The Royals Shopping Centre and 141 Leigh Road.

The trail can also be followed using the free Waddle-on-Sea app, available on the App Store and Google Play.

For more information, visit www.waddleonsea.co.uk or follow @waddleonsea on Instagram and Facebook.

Published on 8th September 2025