Community-minded teenagers have given children at an East Durham nursery school grounds for celebration by designing and creating a sensory garden.
The young people from East Durham funded, planned and installed the garden at Sunshine Nursery, O’Neill Drive, as part of a Prince’s Trust course.
As well as filling the area with different plants and flowers, the group have added decking, wood chipping, logs and a willow tunnel to spark the children’s curiosity.
Katherine Hardman, Nursery Manager, said: “The plot was pretty bare before and although we wanted to do something with it we didn’t have the time or money available so we were very pleased when the young people offered to do it.
“They’ve done a brilliant job. It’s now a lovely place for the children to go and sit and read a book but it’s also a great learning environment. We will definitely be using it to its full potential.”
The young people chose to create the sensory garden after being challenged to set up their own community project.
After speaking to staff and children at the nursery, the group developed a plan for the site and a budget for the work that needed to be carried out.
They also organised a series of events to raise the £300 needed to complete the project.
The group held a sponsored car wash, organised a number of car boot sales and took part in a virtual coast-to-coast bike ride, cycling more than one hundred miles on exercise bikes at Peterlee Leisure Centre. They also approached local businesses for support and donations.
The scheme was supported by District of Easington Council’s Pride in Easington campaign.
Michelle Morton, Pride in Easington officer, said: “The young people particularly wanted to do something for local children and created the sensory garden to enable them to experience different smells, colours and textures.
“They also wanted it to attract insects and butterflies to the garden and allow the children to benefit from the opportunity to learn outdoors.”
News article created on the 07 March 2008