Help us Grow, at Nansloe!

Welcome to our Crowdfunder page for Nansloe Nature garden! 

Our initial aim is to raise enough money to purchase a safe and secure storage unit to store our tools and equipment, that will also double as an outdoor classroom on occasion, creating an extra space for our special educational needs pupils to learn from and create a safe space for them to enjoy their outdoor learning. 

We would also like to share our long term plans that include updating our outdoor spaces to incorporate a Nature Garden into the school grounds alongside a new Forest School area. We would like to create more habitats for local wildlife on our grounds and in the local area whilst teaching the local children the importance of biodiversity. 

Over the last few months the pupils at Nansloe have been enjoying ‘Outdoor Learning’. This has proved hugely popular and beneficial to the students who have been taking part in a range of activities. These include lighting campfires, learning fire safety, foraging, gardening and learning to grow and nurture plants from seed, and lots more! 

Last year we worked on bringing back to life our school allotment and ran a popular garden club. The children were so invested in the space and frequently visited over their break and lunch times to help with weeding and watering etc. Unfortunately due to the location of the allotment, being so out of sight from the school building and the CCTV in operation, we were finding that the garden was being spoilt over the weekends.  We decided that we would plan to move our garden closer to the school, making it more accessible for pupils and parents alike. We want it to be a space that everyone can enjoy. 

The new design will wrap around the South side of the school field, which is currently flat grass. we visualize a new storage unit that can double as an outdoor classroom on occasion for our SEND pupils, which will open up onto a patio area with a demo table, for topics such as outdoor cooking and willow weaving. We have incorporated a sweeping pathway that flows through the garden, enjoying a number of raised beds built with oak sleepers to grow a range of flowers and vegetables for the children to enjoy and try for themselves. 

The pathway will move through the polytunnel and carry on through a ‘wildflower’ garden with seating areas for our pupils to take some time to reflect and engage with nature, whilst surrounded by sensory planting. This garden design is defined by the addition of some native hedging such as Beech and Hazel and some post fencing to bound the area together. Moving through the garden towards the end of the field we hope to include an area for Forest School lead activities with a permanent campfire and spaces for bushcraft activities.

We have made a start on creating a wildlife pond to increase biodiversity on our school site, and have turned the ‘old garden’ into a mini woodland area with over 270 native trees and shrubs having been planted along with the addition of some wonderful new seating areas overlooking Nansloe Estate. We have aimed to re-purpose all suitable materials from our old allotment, including the patio slabs,  polytunnel framework and a selection of plants!

We have broken our campaign down into two stages. 

Stage 1 – Initially we would like to secure £5,000 to include a safe and secure storage unit on site, that can be used as an outdoor classroom and will be in view of CCTV and easily accessible for the pupils. This will be key to running our sessions productively and enjoying more learning time outside.

Stage 2 – Long term, our focus will be on bringing our design to life including all of the above briefs. To create an immersive, inspiring and relaxing space that our pupils can take pride in looking after, whilst learning about our environment and benefit from exciting Forest School Sessions. Estimated Costs £10,000

Gaining a storage space will help with the running of our hugely beneficial and popular Outdoor Learning sessions and give a safe space for our SEND pupils to use as an outdoor classroom. 

 If you would like to offer your services or become a sponsor to support our future plans for a Nature Garden at Nansloe, to help bring our design to life please do get in touch with our Outdoor Learning Lead, Jenny – [email protected]

Huge THANKS to… 

Firstly to Zinnia Swanzy - Garden Designer, who kindly put together this wonderful garden plan for us and has helped us endlessly, with getting this project off the ground, we can’t thank you enough! 

Secondly to Charles Dowding - Well renowned Gardener & Author, for not only agreeing to support our campaign, but generously donating a selection of signed copies of your new children's gardening book (Available to purchase as a £30 donation to our fundraiser, in the rewards section) 

Thank you Charles for agreeing to be in our campaign video and support this project, you’re an inspiration - from all of us at Nansloe! 

Lastly thank you to the WONDERFUL pupils at Nansloe Academy - they have been incredibly enthusiastic when it comes to their learning and we are so proud of you all! We would love to bring this project to life as we can see how much it means to you all! 

We hope that you can help us reach our goal and thank you for visiting our Crowdfunder Campaign! 

Want to stay up to date with our progress? Follow us on Instagram @nansloeoutdoorlearning 

Or follow our Facebook Page - @nansloeacademy