From little Acorns...
The children of Highfields Primary school in Burntwood celebrated as their fabulous 'Vegetable and Wildlife outdoor classroom' was unveiled.
Throughout the project, that has been wonderfully managed by Miss Kelly Weir and Debbie Evans from Acme tree services, the children have played a huge part in the transformation, getting involved in designing, planning and creating their 'Outdoor Classroom.'
The children are also heavily involved in maintaining the area, from planting seeds and keeping them watered, ensuring the bird tables are never empty of food and birdbaths are always full of water. They've also had the experience of making such things like: birdfeeders, birdhouses, ladybird sanctuaries, bee houses, wildlife habitats and also beautifully painting large garden stones into colourful creatures and flowers for the outdoor space.
The makeover comes as part of the 'RBS Supergrounds' programme, which is now in its sixth and final year. So far, the RBS Supergrounds project has enabled 59 schools to improve their grounds, with a total investment of £236,000, in the West Midlands area.
Highfields Primary School became involved with the scheme through David Townsend, who is a Governor, parent and PTFA member at the school. He explains, "I know what a difference an 'Outdoor Classroom' like this makes to the lives of the children and I'm really proud that the Bank, has turned a dream into a reality." The £4,000 cash award from 'RBS
Supergrounds' has encouraged the school's Parent Teacher and Friends Association to match the figure with an additional £4,000.
The design, hard landscaping, management and development of the project was carried out by a local company called Acme Tree Services Ltd who specialise in tree surgery and grounds maintenance. Mike and Debbie Evans, Directors of Acme, have 2 children at Highfields and when they heard about the garden project back in October 2009 were extremely
keen to get involved. They offered their knowledge, experience and labour force to help the school create an enjoyable area for the children to work within. They were keen to develop areas that would give children the opportunity to carry out 'hands-on' gardening and to experience the enjoyment that it gives. Also helping to create areas to encourage wildlife and to look after their needs.
Acme is continuing to help with the garden's maintenance and will be actively involved with its ongoing development.
The local community have also been very generous in providing lots of spare plants and garden features after an appeal was made in the local media recently.
Miss Kelly Weir said, "This project has provided a wonderful learning opportunity that has allowed all of our children to be involved in a very positive change. Even better, children will learn about the food chain and nutrition, something they can carry and use throughout their lifetime."
Get your school growing. The educational benefits are endless. Children not only learn the basics of plant growth and development but also important social skills, along with improving vocabulary and maths.
