Young Offenders put Spring in School’s Children’s Step

Young offenders working with Froglife have given a spring makeover to a wildlife area at The Park LanePrimary School in Whittelsey.  Thanks to funding from the Big Lottery’s Awards for All scheme, the school’s formerly tired and overgrown area has been completely transformed with two new ponds, a dipping platform, a tool shed, an outdoor blackboard and wildlife-friendly planting.  Young offenders have given approximately 432 hours of their time to benefit pupils at the school, the local community and wildlife in the area.

The new outdoor classroom has been supported by over 400 hours of work by young offenders

Froglife has been providing activities for young offenders on reparation orders for Peterborough City Council since 2006, providing over 100 hours of positive and educational activities in all weathers each week.  We have recently secured a contract to help young people in Peterborough improve their local environment for another two years, and will be expanding our work to include preventative measures to help young people at risk of committing offences.  We were also lucky enough to be given extra support in this area by the Bromley Trust.

Activities with us serve as community service, and young people have so far left green footprints across Peterborough – including creating wildlife gardens in school grounds, creating and restoring ponds, building wildlife homes, growing plants and constructing an outdoor classroom at Froglife’s wildlife-friendly allotment.

“Park Lane’s outdoor classroom has been a fantastic project to support,” said James McAdie, who runs FACT - Froglife’s work with young offenders. “It has given the young people I work with the chance to create a wildlife garden from start to finish, learning new skills and giving something back by making an area that will be used and loved by generations of local schoolchildren.”

The Park Lane Primary School will be showing off their new outdoor classroom at an open day on Friday the 7^th of June, with teachers and pupils making the most of their newly revamped outdoor space.