Once we got to the school, we knew we had a busy day ahead of us. We started to plan out what needed to be done and roughly how we would manage our time.
Building the fence
Before we put the fencing up, we started by building the bench which had been ordered to the school from Amazon. When ordering the bench, we emailed the school asking whether it would be possible to order it to the school’s address so that we didn’t have to drive up to the school with it poking out of Roberto’s car (like the fence panels). Luckily, the school agreed.
Once we had taken the bench up to the outdoor area, we opened the box and removed all of the pieces. Before we started to build the bench, we decided that it would be best if we build the bench in the pergola so that we wouldn’t have to move the bench once it was built. In order to ensure that we had all of the correct pieces, we organised each piece into a pile. Harvey then used the instructions to identify the different pieces that we would need to build the bench.
After checking all of the equipment to ensure that we weren’t missing any pieces, we followed the instructions and as a team, and started to build the bench. As we came to the end of the first page of instructions, Jack noticed an area on the images that we had build incorrectly. Whilst this was frustrating, we pulled through and before we knew it the bench was built. After ensuring that the bench was stable and double checking to see if any of the screws were not covered, Harvey opted to test the bench.
Building the fences
After a long decision on how to separate the outdoor education area from the walk way, we decided to buy some fencing. We felt that this would make the garden a more private area for children to use in lessons and their break times. We were extremely lucky to be donated some money from Harvey's Dad's business to help us buy the fencing. We measured the area and new we would need 3 panels and 4 posts to gate off the area at the front and between the garden and bugs hotel. Roberto, who has the biggest car, opted to drive to DIY shop with Harvey to pick the fencing panels up. We soon realised that it was going to be a very tight squeeze.
We began by deciding where to put the first fence post. After this was decided, we then dug a hole so that it could be concreted into the ground. Once Harvey had dug the hole for the first fence post, we worked together to concrete the post in place so that the fence would be sturdy. This involved one of us stood holding the post in position for a few minutes whilst the post-mix set.
After the first fence post was in place, we then used the fence panel to measure where the next post (yes, another hole was dug) would go before concreting this in place as well. Once the first fence was in place, we realised the gap for the entrance was smaller than we first anticipated. As a result, we all talked about different ways in which we could make the entrance wider and more accessible. We had decided to cut a small piece of the second fence panel, so the entrance was 1 metre wide. To ensure the fence covered the whole entrance, we needed to use two slats from the third panel to go up against the shed. However, this was the most difficult panel to fit because the hole for the post needed to be two feet deep (more digging) to ensure the fence was level. After digging the hole and concreting the fence into position, we could finally fit the panel. The remaining panel was then used for the entrance to the bugs hotel. After measuring all the panels to check they were as level as we could make them, we then started to work on the fencing near the bug’s hotel
We carried on working to ensure that the fencing would be finished during our time at the school. Fitting the panels to the bugs hotel was easier and quicker than we thought. We dug a narrow channel, made sure it was level and poured in the post-mix. After, Harvey held the panels in place for a few minutes, Roberto then filled in the gap and placed the soil and stones back into their position.
