SALTIRE - Fun, Nature Friendly, School Gardens

Our Vision

At St Angela’s Primary School and Nursery Class we are passionate about outdoor learning, physical play and connecting with nature.  In collaboration with St Angela’s Parent Council we have an ambitious vision for our school and nursery green spaces. Together we plan to create stimulating, nature rich, biodiverse and fun spaces for our children to play and learn. 

As a result of vandalism, as well as deterioration with time, parts of our outdoor space are bare and unstimulating. Our Early Years Garden has been untouched for some time and urgently needs development to maximise potential of the space for nature play and exploration. 

Our Plan 

In collaboration with pupils, parents/carers and staff we have developed a long term plan to transform our play spaces.

What this campaign will fund

This campaign will kick start our Early Years Garden development. £15,000 will allow us to design a fun, interactive and biodiverse garden for St Angela's nursery class. Our stretch target of £20,000 will enable us to invest in our Primary 1 playground, developing an Active and Imaginative Play Station

Who are we and what do we want to do?

St Angela’s Primary School Community consists of the School, the Parent Council and their SALTIRE subgroup, the Parent / Carer Forum and the local community in Darnley. We have been collaborating on school grounds development for the past four years and have created an amazing community-based, climate action project called SALTIRE to lead this work.

SALTIRE: Saint Angela’s Learning Together, in Respect for the Environment.

The SALTIRE project is led by a group of dedicated Parent/Carer/Community volunteers who are passionate about outdoor learning, connecting with nature, creating biodiverse green spaces to play and learn and developing climate resilient communities. 

Over the past four years the SALTIRE group have spent 100s of hours leading gardening and grounds-development activities with all pupils from P1 – P7. This academic year they plan to extend this to include the nursery children. Together with the SALTIRE pupil Steering Group they have supported pupils to plant trees, shovel soil, push wheelbarrows, pull weeds, rake soil, fill planters, paint outdoor furniture, shovel compost and an array of other fun outdoor activities. 

With financial support from School Funds, St Angela’s Parent Council, Glasgow City Council Area Partnership Funding, Glasgow Centre for Population Health and Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector and with help from lots of little hands we have created a wonderful outdoor space for P2-P7 pupils to play and learn at the back of the school. This includes a sensory garden, an all-weather gathering space, a mud café, a memorial garden, a willow maze and will soon include a community allotment and an edible hedge. 

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the space enjoyed by our youngest pupils and the next four years will be predominantly dedicated to developing an amazing outdoor space for them.

What are the benefits of the project?

HEALTH: Children need space to grow, play, explore and learn. Research shows that spending time in nature has significant physical and mental health benefits. Our Early Years Garden Development Plan will benefit the children of St Angela’s Community for years to come, by providing them with engaging natural spaces to explore every day.

LEARNING: Being stimulated and engaged by the spaces in which they spend their recreational time, improves the experiences children have outdoors, and improves concentration and engagement in class.  Nature-rich, varied outdoor spaces provide infinite opportunities for high quality outdoor learning experiences where children and adults alike can learn from, and about, nature.

NATURE: The natural world is facing a crisis and it will only be protected by future generations if they feel connected to it. At St Angela’s we are passionate about providing children with daily opportunities to connect with nature in biodiversity rich spaces. We are very fortunate to have extensive grounds for our children but this requires significant investment to develop and maintain. The value of a strong connection with the natural world however, is priceless.

COMMUNITY: This project will support the continuing work of our SALTIRE group, providing opportunities for the adults in our community to connect with nature, make friends, spend time outdoors, improve their health and wellbeing and develop an understanding of the importance of climate resilience. Inviting and engaging outdoor spaces provide a place for community to gather. We would invite all supporters of our project to celebrate with us at our Celebration Event June 4th 2024 6-8pm.

Testimonials:

"It was great to watch how the children are playing. They're using every part of the playground & playing in a creative way, using their imaginations, & physically too, hanging from trees. Everyone seems to have their own little corner that they enjoy."  Allison Greig, Senior Countryside Ranger, Glasgow City Council

"Of all the organisations we have worked with in over 10 years, St Angela’s Parent Council is by far the most organised, focused and successful in engaging with the wider school community. Year after year they continue to build upon their successes and I’m always excited to hear what they are planning next!" Kerrie Shannon, Sowing Seeds, Sustainable Outdoor Learning Solutions

“What a fantastic and valuable morning spent with St. Angela’s Primary School, Darnley, planting wildlife beneficial trees and shrubs – the pupils and staff were not just enthusiastic but aware of the wildlife benefits their work would bring, creating much needed and important habitat for our native flora and fauna. I look forward to watching the area develop and seeing not just the school gaining benefits from it, but the local community and of course wildlife.” Rennie Mason, Dams to Darnley Countryside Ranger Service

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