Building a new sensory garden for children with special needs
Posted on 19 May 2009
A team of 24 university students created the garden at Applefields School, with help from the schools’ pupils and support from the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
This is a great example of the extensive voluntary work our students and staff do every year
Kate Harper
The students had to conduct extensive research beforehand to ensure the finished garden would be suitable for the school’s pupils and had to defend their plans in front of a Dragons’ Den-style panel of executives at Norwich Union. Their successful bid to the University Community Fund, supported by Shepherd Group, secured £5000 to turn their ideas into reality.
Second year English and Philosophy student Alice Mumby said: “Creating this garden has been a lot of hard work but also hugely rewarding and I hope it brings a great deal of pleasure to the school’s pupils for many years to come.”
The garden features custom-built seating, wheel-chair accessible raised beds and planters, an outdoor classroom area, kitchen garden, original artwork and an outdoor music area. Dean’s Garden Centre and Orchard Nurseries generously supported the project by offering a selection of free and discounted plants.
George Gilmore, headteacher at Applefields School, said: “The new sensory garden is a fantastic addition to the school’s facilities. The staff, pupils and parents at Applefields are very grateful for the help of all the volunteers involved.“
Every year, at least 1,000 University of York students and staff give up their time to help a wide range of community projects.
Kate Harper, Volunteering Project Officer for the University, said: “This is a great example of the extensive voluntary work our students and staff do every year, making a significant contribution to communities across York and bringing satisfaction to those taking part.”
The project was co-ordinated by The University of York Community and Volunteering Unit and supported by v@yorkcares, the city-wide youth volunteering initiative which brings young people in and out of education and employment together through volunteering.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The University’s Community and Volunteering Unit (CAVU) is based in the Careers Service. For more information about the Unit’s work and how University volunteers can support community projects in York and North Yorkshire contact Jacqui Tesselment on (01904) 432499.
- CAVU provides members of the University with access to small-scale funding via the Community Fund which is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Active Community Fund and Shepherd Group.
- CAVU is also responsible for delivering volunteering to employees and young people across the city on behalf of the volunteering charity, York Cares and its youth arm, v@yorkcares. For more information about York Cares and v@yorkcares visit http://www.yorkcares.co.uk.
- Twitter users can now keep up to date with news from the University of York at http://twitter.com/UniOfYork. A newsfeed is also available at http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news-feeds/.