Grant helps develop outdoor classroom
Mount Biggs School has developed an outdoor classroom at the back of school grounds thanks to a community grant from
Horizons Regional Council.
The school received $1,000 to put towards enhancing a gully previously over run with weeds and pine trees. Principal
Raewyn Marshall says they used locally donated seedlings to plant natives and Horizons funding went towards building
wooden platforms for the students to use.
“Now that the area is cleared of weeds and the seedlings have taken off we wanted to build platforms our students can
use as work stations when they enjoy and use this outdoor space,” she says.
“We’ve also used some of our funding to lime the paths that wind through the area. It’s been a long process to get this
area developed but we consider the investment of time and effort to be worth it as we’ve created an outdoor classroom
for our students.”
Mrs Marshall says building the platforms also provided senior students with the chance to do some practical learning.
“We’ve got a wonderful retired farmer, Clem Smith, who helps out with odds and ends at school when we need him and he
built the platforms for us,” says Mrs Marshall.
“He got two of our senior boys, Justin Maunder and Angus Little, to help him dig the holes for the foundation poles,
mark where all the nails needed to go and do the nailing. They absolutely loved this practical side of the project and
Clem is fantastic with them.”
Horizons environmental educator Helen Thomas says it’s great to see the Mount Biggs School taking an area they had
available and enhancing it to provide further education.
“I’m so happy to see the area Mount Biggs has developed for further environmental education. I can see there will be
plenty of opportunity for students to learn about the bugs, insects and birds that will be attracted to the gully now,”
she says.
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