Let the manual labour begin!

On Wednesday 11th October, our project area was fenced off by Mr Wileman which meant that we could officially make a start! After unloading a car full of the generous donations from Homebase and members of the public we set to work. Today was all about preparing the soil for the meadow seeds to be sown. We were armed with our spades, forks and rakes, removing the top layer of soil, grass and weeds. We had definitely underestimated how tough this job would be, as originally we thought it would only take us a week... that was never going to happen! While we were working, a number of excited children came over to talk to us at break and lunch time and it was lovely to discuss the project with them and hear their thoughts and ideas. Understandably, a few children were sad that their favourite area has been fenced off but we assured them that it will be well worth the wait and we will begin to see the results in spring. 

Despite the damp weather forecast, we were so pleased to be joined by Mrs Buncle and the children from the gardening club after lunch to help us with our mammoth task! Even though they were focussed mostly on saving the worms, they worked incredibly hard and fortunately didn't get too wet, however they did get incredibly muddy (sorry parents!!). In future when the children help us, we are going to ask if they can wear old clothes and shoes. Before allowing the children to help us out, we undertook a risk assessment to ensure safe practice was reinforced.

We're pleased to say that the soil preparation is now more than half way to completion, with a few more hours of digging scheduled for next Wednesday. 

All that digging equated to a huge pile of soil! After talking with Mrs Gasser and Mrs Buncle, they have decided to give us another aspect to consider in the project - how to incorporate the soil!