Mr Wileman kindly put up two bird houses in the trees for us and they looked great! We really hope that birds will start to use them during the spring.It was time to get to work! Georgia and Natasha completed the log seating area by spreading out some more bark chippings and selecting logs that were a suitable size to sit on and that didn't have an fungi on them. We are hoping that when all the plants have started to grow, this area will be a great sitting area for groups of people to enjoy.
Next, we finished the pathway that leads to and surrounds the circular tree seat and spread out more bark chippings. Carl, the carpenter, is currently busy making the seat for this area and we can't wait to see it all come together in the spring term!
One part of the meadow that we hadn't really addressed was the huge pile of mud and leaves. We knew that somehow we needed to shift it, because a new fence needed to be built in its place. Natasha grabbed her spade and started shovelling the mud into a wheelbarrow, ready for Lizzie to transport it to various locations in the woodland part of the meadow and spread it out. While we were doing this, Georgia decided to make a start of the sanding of the reflection bench. She was doing so well, but unfortunately the sander ran out of battery so instead she came and helped shift the mud. This process took a long time, as we had forgotten how much mud we had actually dug up in the first place. Once it was done, we all felt hugely relieved and glad that we didn't stop until it was done.
We didn't need any help from the gardening team this week, however as the group of children had not yet seen inside the meadow, Natasha took them for a guided tour to get their reaction and answer any questions that they had about it.
Finally, Natasha had bought some grass seed that was suitable for the shady, woodland area of the meadow. We all carefully scattered the seeds, hoping that they will still grow even though the weather is so cold at the moment! Only time will tell!
On Friday 30th November, we all went back to the school along with our lecturer from university who will be marking us on this project, Kirstie. We invited her to see the progress that we had made and hear her thoughts about the meadow baring in mind she hadn't seen it before. She seemed really impressed and hoped that she would be able to visit again at the end of the project to see the final result. We were also visited by a builder on Friday who helped us to finish off constructing the reflection benches. We were struggling to attach the back and arms of the bench but he completed it with ease! Thanks for all your help Danny, we really appreciate it!Once all of our visitors had left, Lizzie and Georgia headed off to the gardening centre to go and fetch the final bags of bark chipping and some wood preserver, while Natasha stayed at the school to sand the now finished reflection benches. When Lizzie and Georgia arrived back at the school, we spread out the final bags of bark and then got to work painting the preserver onto the bench. We all really enjoyed doing this as it was actually quite therapeutic. We are really pleased with the end result of the benches and are hoping that they will last a long time.
After calculating our final expenditures for the project, we are pleased to say that we have come in under the £500 budget. This leaves some money in the pot for the school to decide where the last bit of money needs to be spent. Our largest expense was the materials for the pathways (bark, membrane, fixings) with the remainder being spent on plants and seeds.
We have now reached a stage where there is not a lot we can do, as we need to allow time for the grass to grow and the ferns to spread. This is perfect timing for us, as we now won't be visiting the school for a while due to attending our final year school placements. We have left Mrs Buncle and the gardening team in charge of our meadow while we are gone, to make sure that the plants get watered and to keep an eye out for any new wildlife!
