Sponsoring St Mary’s of the Angels School

Doocey Group in conjunction with Redrow Homes have recently sponsored team of green-fingered graduates who have transformed a local school’s garden into an outdoor haven to support pupils’ wellbeing.

Graduates from around the country joined together to turn an overgrown, unused area at St Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School in Aldridge into a garden and outdoor classroom for local pupils to enjoy.

The new space, which took three months to plan and was rejuvenated in just one week, has been designed to support pupils by providing a tranquil place to learn, relax and find serenity.

Complete with multi-coloured benches for the classroom area, tinkering tables, a bug hotel, plant boxes and a gardening area with a shed – the graduates have worked tirelessly to clear the space, including the removal of an old pond and metal fencing, which separated the area from the rest of the playground, to create the oasis of calm.

The garden also features a sculpture by an emerging artist based in Lichfield, Hannah Golding. The sculpture is a third of a silhouette of a human head, made of steel wire, and was inspired by the artist’s experiences with mental health.

Hannah donated her time to build the artistic creation for the school, and is passionate about supporting issues around mental health and wellbeing.

The first stage of the project saw the graduates visit the school for a craft session, where they created wind chimes for the new garden, and painted the school’s bike shed, with the help of pupils. In the second stage, after months of planning, the graduates completed the garden and unveiled the rejuvenated space.