Army of volunteers chip in to give Northampton nursery school much-needed garden makeover

The Wallace Road Nursery School garden has been revamped.

A Northampton nursery school has benefitted from a garden makeover, thanks to an army of volunteers.

Wallace Road Nursery School, off Kettering Road, has a large garden, which children are able to enjoy regularly.

However, the outside space had begun to look ‘tired’ and ‘untidy’, so staff decided to start a project to raise awareness of the nursery and revamp the garden.

Volunteers painted parts of the garden to refresh it.

Headteacher, Beccy Merritt, said: “We are a community nursery and we have been trying to work with the community and families to raise awareness of the nursery and recognise the help we need because we don’t have a site manager.

“We launched ‘Project Wallace’ and one of the parents came forward and said she wanted to lead the project. Without her it would not have happened the way it did.

“All the volunteers did an amazing job and they’re not even finished yet. There are still things they want to do.”

During the summer holidays, an army of volunteers, including parents of current and former pupils and other community members, tidied the garden, painted the fence, redid the bamboo on the fence, cleaned transport vans and more.

Volunteers still have more they want to do.

Beccy added: “We are overwhelmed by the support.

“They’ve tidied it up, it all looks so much better and it’s much more attractive.

“The children love the garden whatever it looks like, but families need it to be pleasing to the eye, safe and secure.

“The revamp has also really boosted staff morale and it has made such a difference with the parents.

“It warms our hearts that people have done this for us.

“As a maintained nursery school people may think we have loads of money behind us but we do not, so for volunteers to come forward who want the school to look as lovely as we do is great.

“We want to say a massive thank you to them for all the support.”

The group of volunteers are keen to keep working on the garden with plans for a bug hotel, a herb garden, a digging area, a stage and other ideas.

The nursery school is also hosting a summer fete on site this Saturday (September 18) from 10am to midday to raise money for the establishment.