CGPS Projects – an update

Capel Pre-School, Capel School and Five Oak Green Brownies have been telling us about their projects that have been supported by the Charity.

Capel Pre-School report that the resources they have received have been really well explored and used.  The children are now enjoying the natural world around them much more, especially in the garden. They are always outside with binoculars and magnifying glasses. Spiders and worms are often being ‘examined’.  The children enjoyed the bird books especially the ones that make bird sounds and they love watching the birds come into the garden to feed.

Brown Owl, Wendy Ellis reports that the raised flower bed project is going well with perennials replacing time consuming and water thirsty annuals. Sadly the Spring weather has hindered the Brownies getting to the raised bed as much in recent months. The Brownies are hoping to add more water retentive material to the bed – pebbles and bark.

Capel School received funding from CGPS for the training of their Forest School teacher, Karen Lee. Karen sent us the following report:

We have had a great year at forest school, the children have all now had the chance to use the area and have enjoyed it greatly. We have had rain, hail, hot sun and snow flurries and have made the most of them all by making mini rafts, collecting the biggest hail stone and playing with water to keep cool. There have been some amazing structures built and lots of flora and fauna identified. The children have made some incredible bug homes and year 1 looked at where animals might hibernate. The mud kitchen is always popular and we are looking to expand it with the help of year 6 next term. We have enjoyed some fantastic campfire cooking and had fun with campfire songs.

It has been lovely following the seasons and watching the area changing, we now have a plum and cherry tree which look to be fruiting and we visited the community orchard to pollinate the apple trees. We also have a red current bush and a few herbs. We are hoping to expand on the sensory plants that will encourage more wildlife. The children are always so excited when it is their term and the feedback from them, the staff and parents has been amazing.