Budding gardeners are positively blossoming at Charleston School as they lay the roots for a ground-breaking outdoor learning project.
Kitted out in new hi-vis vests and armed with watering cans, spades and trowels, the pupils at the Cove Bay school couldn’t wipe the huge grins from their faces after house builder Stewart Milne Homes kindly donated £1,000 to their Eco Gardens initiative.
New sensory area
Wasting no time in getting their hands dirty, the pupils have used the funding to buy wood for building planters in a new sensory area.
The donation has also enabled them to buy bulbs, compost and a selection of child-friendly gardening tools.
Not only that but the hardworking pupils are also using some of the funding to give their garden shed a much needed revamp and have also invested in rainwater collection butts and drainpipes to help water the plants.
Outdoor learning
To see at first-hand the joy that gardening is giving the pupils was a particularly heartwarming moment for Tanya Fowlie, the sales manager at Stewart Milne Homes.
“It’s great to see the school foster a love of nature from an early age and helping to inspire the pupils to learn about the environment around them,” says Tanya.
“The school is situated in the heart of our Charleston development, so we were thrilled to come along to the school to see first-hand the enthusiasm the children have for gardening and creating new spaces around their school they can be proud of.”
‘Taking ownership of the green areas’
From developing the children’s confidence and improving their communication skills to building their social skills, Dan Hall, the depute head teacher at Charleston School, says the eco project is changing young people’s lives.
“We want to thank Stewart Milne Homes for their generous donation which has gone a long way to not only improve the green areas around the school, but also to inspire a new love of the outdoors in many of our pupils,” says Mr Hall.
“Taking ownership of the green areas around the schools, planting flowers and watching them grow has been a fantastic opportunity for the pupils to learn about science and nature, and they’ve really enjoyed seeing the results as the plants start to flower.”
As part of the project, the pupils have also been learning how fruit and vegetables grow and received hi-vis vests to help keep them safe while outdoors, especially in the darker winter months.
Meanwhile, Stewart Milne Homes continues to progress the development of its Charleston development with a mix of two, three, four, five and six-bedroom homes, just a two-minute walk from Charleston School.
For more information about the Stewart Milne Homes’ Charleston development, visit the website: www.stewartmilnehomes.com/new-homes/neighbourhoods/charleston
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