Spades in the ground for pioneering Morecambe primary school’s eco-garden

Located behind Sandylands’ Balmoral Road buildings, the project has been made possible thanks to a £47,000 investment from West End Morecambe Big Local (WEM), a resident-led community partnership working to tackle local issues and improve the area through collaborative action.

This funding runs alongside the support of Lancashire County Council.

Crucially, the project has been shaped by the children themselves, following an innovative pupil forum held by WEM to canvass a child’s-eye view of life in the West End.

Pupils expressed the desire for somewhere green that felt like it belonged to them.

Pupils from Sandylands’ Pupil Parliament formed an eco-committee to help design the garden, to include growing areas and polytunnels, bug hotels and bird feeders, water collection for planting, outdoor seating, and a large activity table.

A memorial bench among herbs and strawberry planters will remember much-loved school governor June Ashworth. Pupils will tend vegetables for the “source local” school kitchen, to take home, or become young market garden entrepreneurs.

Designed in line with the school’s Climate Action Plan, the garden will be embedded into the curriculum, supporting science, environmental studies and wellbeing activities from Little Seahorses Nursery right through to Year 6 children.

Witnessing the first spades in the ground alongside pupils, parents, partners and Morecambe mayor Coun Margaret Pattison, Sandylands headteacher Allison Hickson said: “We’re incredibly proud of this project and what it represents.

"Creating sustainable environments is important to us and something that children need to be involved in and educated on. We are hugely grateful to WEM and all our collaborators and contractors, for believing in the children’s ideas and helping turn them into reality.”

Joe Robinson, partnership development lead at West End Morecambe Big Local, said: “Children’s voices are often forgotten in public consultations, and the scope and imagination of this project shows just how important and inspiring they can be.

"An eco-garden designed by children, for children; we’re delighted to support Sandylands in bringing this wonderful resource to life.”

Construction is hoped to be completed by the end of March, followed by spring planting and landscaping, with a formal opening around Easter.

The school welcomes support from any local businesses able to provide equipment such as tools, wellies and outdoor learning resources.

With the Eden Project imminent, there are many links with the project, and Ms Hickson said that as a school community they want to be as involved as possible in all things sustainable.