A SHED at a South Tyneside school is being transformed into an indoor garden.
Biddick Hall Infant School in South Shields is creating the garden to provide a new reading environment for children.
A roll of artificial turf has been delivered to the school in Galsworthy Road after it was donated by Washington-based civil engineers and property firm, Hellens.
The shed, which had previously been used for storage, is being redecorated by the children alongside artist Nicola Balfour, from Newcastle.
Flowers and plants will be painted on the walls, and it will also include other decorative garden features such as beanstalks.
Teacher Laura Millward said: “It is going to be a lovely place for the children to go and read, listen to and tell stories.
“We want it to be an idyllic environment, which will complement what we already have at the school.”
Miss Millward said the idea to convert came from the children themselves.
She explained: “We were talking to the children about our school and its surroundings and they decided they wanted to create an indoor garden, which would be a comfortable area for them to go.
“When we do an art project we allow the children to be creative, and don’t go into it with any preconceived ideas.
“They have learned a lot working with Nicola and we are all looking forward to getting the turf laid.”
The artificial turf was donated by Hellens, which built the new £160k all-weather pitch at Monkton Stadium last year.
Gavin Cordwell-Smith, Hellens chief executive, said: “We like to link-in with the local community when we are involved with projects.
“We were made aware the school wanted to create an indoor garden and we were only happy to help. Hopefully, the children will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.”
The new football facility at Monkton was completed last July.
It is now used by for five-a-side matches and coaching.
Twitter: @shieldsgazjoe
Comments