Spiritual Garden

A project at Blaenavon Heritage CV Primary School this winter term has just come to a close and has had a great impact on one area of the school grounds.

The task with a year 4 group of pupils was to enhance an area tucked away in a corner of the grounds and transform it into a spiritual reflective space.

The pupils took on the project with enthusiasm and a huge amount of ideas.

The whole project used the National Outdoor Learning Award as a framework.

The first week was about reconnecting with the Outdoors and using the inspiration to format ideas to out into the project.

Lots of natural decorations were made for the area and thoughts transferred onto wooden signs and discs to inspire visitors they their garden of reflection.

The boys took great delight in constructing a new pathway up the garden and planting new Spring colour in the pots and beds.

Over the 8 weeks that the project took place the class became more engaged with the Outdoors and how it can be used for reflection and prayer.

Using the NOLA framework they worked together better in small teams and were more responsive to the ideas of others being put forward which great to see and hear.

Each week the garden had something added to it so they could see their ideas becoming reality which kept the enthusiasm high.

The final day saw a celebration of this brilliant project; flowers were beginning to blossom in celebration of their efforts, they proudly gave their Headmistress a tour of their garden and explained what they and completed.

The week before the class had written some reflective thoughts down on paper to share with others. As a part of their final Outdoor party a fire-pit was used to toast marshmallows along with hot chocolate, the smoke then became the method of transporting these messages on the wind as they were placed into the fire-pit.

Overall the impact both on pupils and the grounds area was great as they had real ownership and pride at the end of this project.