A nature and wildlife garden and outdoor classroom is being created for children at Newington primary school in Ramsgate.
Staff, parents, and pupils dug in to get the project underway as they began clearing the area including hedges and a pond.
Armed with spades, forks, trowels and wheelbarrows, the ground work also started, including marking out and digging areas for planting.
Teachers Tim Knight and Fiona Daly (pictured below), who run the Explorers Club where pupils study insects and plants, are leading the nature garden project.
They said: “It was a real team effort to get the nature garden project underway.
“Staff, families and children all pitched in and we made a brilliant start. We will continue with the project during the next few months and hope to have it completed by the summer.
“A huge thank you to everyone who turned out to help us get this venture under way, and to all those who are supporting us as well. This is an important project for our pupils who will benefit from it in so many ways.”
The garden is intended to act as an outdoor classroom and unique learning resource. It will provide children with access to a variety of sensory experiences including wildlife-friendly planting, opportunities to grow herbs, sensory plants and vegetables as well as investigating, surveying and building animal/insect habitats. There will also be a willow tunnel and ‘bug hotels’.
Head teacher Cliff Stokes said: “This is an exciting addition to our learning resources and it will be well used and lovingly cared for – the enthusiasm for the project has been there from the start and we look forward to seeing it develop over the coming months until it is ready for use.
“Sharing an outdoor classroom with nature is a perfect environment for our pupils and staff.”