Volunteers came together in true community spirit to renovate primary garden at Cromwell Community College in Chatteris

A day of community volunteering saw families give up their weekend to help renovate a school garden.

Volunteers from Chatteris, Wimblington, Doddington and March came together on Saturday to help give the primary garden at Cromwell Community College a makeover.

The day was organised by the college – which is part of The Active Learning Trust, and Fenland’s Family Volunteering Club – as part of its ongoing project.

Around 50 volunteers, including Active Learning Trust staff, primary and secondary pupils, parents, and grandparents, attended. One family even had three generations helping out on the day.

The volunteers built poly tunnels, planted ‘sweet pea tipis’, upcycled plastic buckets into planters, and started to develop more of the sensory area pathways.

The day of volunteering was the second phase of the school’s ongoing garden project, which is part of Cromwell’s commitment to the Outdoor Learning and Play (OPAL) scheme.

The school says that taking part in OPAL – a programme to improve the quality of play in schools – has already led to improvements in social skills and reductions in first aid incidents.

Staff have also noticed that children are eating their lunch faster to get outside to play.

Morgan Parker, a 14-year-old pupil at Cromwell Community College who volunteered, said: “It was fun to help the younger children learn how to use a drill and then turn plastic buckets into planters.”

Claire Macdonald, head teacher of Primary Phase at Cromwell Community College, said: “This project has provided a great opportunity for local people of all ages to come together to make a difference to our school.

“The garden will offer the children lots of exciting outdoor activities to support their learning, play, and wellbeing, reflecting our vision to create a warm learning environment where our pupils can flourish.

“We are hugely grateful to everyone who gave their time to join us.”

Amy Boyden, who is the school’s leader for OPAL, said: “Our garden area, with all its different areas, will help our children develop their learning through play.

“We are very excited about the next phase, which will see us create a stage area for children to put on shows for each other.”

Sharon Spencer, Fenland local coordinator with the family volunteering club, added: “It was brilliant to see such wide community involvement. It was wonderful to see how engaged everyone was, especially the children, who showed great teamwork and care for the plants.

“The session was not only about gardening, but also about connecting with nature, spending quality family time, and contributing to a shared community project.

“A huge thank you to everyone who joined us - and a special shout out to the families, volunteers, and school staff who supported the event. We can’t wait to see the sweet peas grow and flourish in the months ahead.”