Our Wildlife Warriors
At Surfleet Primary School, we are blessed with beautiful grounds and we are always looking for new opportunities to develop these. Being based in a rural location and with many of our families living in rural Lincolnshire, we think it is important for children to have a good understanding and appreciation of the outdoors and associated professions. When a part of our school became available, that was previously used by a local nursery, we jumped at the chance to create an exciting outdoor space and the ‘Wildlife Warriors’ were born.
Headed up by the school’s pastoral lead, Miss Thomson, children are chosen who both want to be involved in the project but also those who would benefit from a SEMH point of view. The children meet once weekly, as part of our after school provision, and have worked tirelessly on a multitude of tasks that help them to both learn about what it means to develop an outdoor space, but also to appreciate how team work, perseverance and accepting challenges are important aspects of their own personal development. They learn that, in order to achieve great things, an immense amount of hard work has to go in beforehand. The Little Red Hen would certainly be pleased with our Wildlife Warriors’ efforts!
Whilst the endeavour is important, the end product is amazing! What used to be a run down, drab space has now become a traditional cottage garden with various produce: carrots, peas, radishes, potatoes, tomatoes, onions and even pumpkins! Petunias, geraniums, marigolds and a curry plant or two adorn the non-vegetable spaces. Minibeasts are welcome to stay for a while in their very own bug hotel and birds can feast at their leisure having access to feeders and a bird bath. When we hold events for our local community, the garden is always a focal point. Not bad for an area that used to be an eyesore!
The garden is not just important to the Wildlife Warriors, it is a topic of conversation and interest for all of the children in the school and the wider Surfleet community. Through Miss Thomson’s networking skills, we have managed to get plants, compost, furniture, etc. free of charge so that we can continue to develop the area now and in the future. We were also really fortunate to have the team from Transported Art come into school and work with the Warriors on transforming their shed into an art masterpiece! This is now a central part of the garden area that is a beacon for hard work and effort.
Following recent class council meetings, the School Council have agreed to develop and extend the garden area to create a sensory and reading area which will help us meet the needs of a wider range of children and to support us on our journey to promote the love of reading. Our PTFA have very kindly agreed to fund this. Previously, the Warriors were invited to visit a local nursery to see the different professions on offer. What better way to link what we are doing at school to local opportunities available for the children when they become adults.
Without doubt, developing the garden area and creating the Wildlife Warriors has been and continues to be a massive positive for our school community. Nevertheless, the question always remains ‘What can we do next?’ If we can have a school of Little Red Hens, I would be very proud!