Published at 11:58, Thursday, 15 March 2012

Open Spaces News Letter 2011-2012
There is so much Mrs Booker and her green fingered helpers have done this year. You wouldn’t think that the place that was a hump of mud turned into a place of life and laughter. When I first came I honestly thought that this was going to be work, work, work but then I go to know the people around me and I knew this is a place I would keep in my heart forever. I may not go anymore but I never forgot the good times I had there. Like on sports day 2011 the Cumberland News came and did some photos of the garden, I felt very important. I still try to do little things for open spaces like bake cakes for tea parties. I can’t believe how fast its progressed. Despite the awful weather we have every year they always make it through. All of years 7, 8, 9 and 10 working in their own time to take care of animals and plants. “I think it’s cool and the work they do is great!” by Joseph Dent. So if a year 7 that doesn’t even go thinks I can’t imagine the kind of things that go around the heads of the people that go. I have tried some of the fruit that comes out of the gates of green; I think the strawberries are so sweet. If you don’t have anything to do at lunch do something green at open spaces. Where chickens wonder around there pen and rabbits munch on lettuce, Be a part of it at open spaces.
The students are like Santa’s little helpers in a garden helping Mrs Booker.

William Howard School Open Spaces recruited the post of Sustainability Officer, in order to take responsibility for offering pupils the chance to learn about living more responsibly in an Environmental way. The post has now been up and running for 13 months and a huge amount of work has been done.
Serious results have been achieved. Not only is there a fully working, organic kitchen garden but also a hands-on small animal area, complete with baby chicks and ducklings, but also there is a firm following of 50 students. This initiative is also now increasingly imbedded in to the Curriculum and there have been many internal promotional vents to raise awareness including a Christmas Craft Fair; A cookery session to create produce for the Christmas Fair; a Christmas Lunch in the School canteen, with some of our very own garden produce; individual fund-raising projects and external visitors.
The Community Lectures were also included in the outreach programme and as a result we have a growing profile in the Community. We have set up links with the National Trust, who have very kindly worked with us to create the new apple tree stock for the first complete WHS Fruit and Flower Garden.
We have been very grateful to receive funding from the County Council, in the form of two grants: one from the Neighbourhood Forum and one from the Early years 8-12 Project funding. We have raised an equal amount of money from the efforts of pupils and Staff in the lat 12 months.
The groups working towards a more sustainable school have explored the potential of alernative energy supplies and have made positive impacts in the use and reuse of materials and resources by both pupils and staff.
The Open Spaces team, who created the fully working kitchen garden are proud to invite the community to visit and share their good practice. We are currently working towards filling our own raised beds, made from recycled material and we do hope to be enjoying another crop of great fruit and veg.

Published by http://www.bramptonlocal.co.uk