Volunteers bring outdoor forest education to a Warwick special needs school

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A team of volunteers from Jaguar Land Rover has given a school an outdoor classroom in partnership with Evelyn’s Gift charity.

Thirteen industrious Product Development volunteers created a Forest classroom at Ridgeway School in Warwick, a special needs primary school and assessment nursery in one day. The team alongside Evelyn’s Gift, who provides little acts of kindness to people in need, built an outdoor classroom dome and a music wall, laid a bark path, erected screens, and renovated a ‘mud kitchen’ and two huts.

Sally Thorpe, Teaching Assistant at Ridgeway School and driving force behind the project, said: “The repairs and improvements will enhance the outdoor learning opportunities for our children and enable them to have the full forest school experience.”

Jaguar Land Rover funded most of the project with additional money supplied by a local church fund and a donation from IBM in memory of pupil Laura Dillon. Founder of Evelyn’s Gift Helen Smith said it was a privilege to work on the inspirational forest school project at Ridgeway School, adding:

“We are delighted to work with Jaguar Land Rover to transform an outdoor space that is so important to the children.”

One of the volunteers, Vita Bakunas said the team enjoyed participating in the project and helping improve the community they live and work in, adding:

“We hope all the children will enjoy learning and playing in the forest school, including wheelchair users who previously couldn’t access this area.”

Jaguar Land Rover has worked on several other community volunteering projects with Evelyn’s Gift over the last 12 months, including the creation of a wildlife area, pond and allotment for Myton School and some gardening at St Michael’s psychiatric hospital.

The company will allow employees up to two days per year to support local charities and not-for-profit organisations located near its facilities. Community organisations can register potential projects for support by emailing takepart@jaguarlandrover.com.