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.
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