act for change: St Margarets Rc primary school
St Margarets RC primary school have been very busy with their Act for Change project and they have lots going on in the next few months too!
“Our aim was to improve the School Grounds and encourage a wide range of children to have an interest in gardening and wildlife.
Our secondary aim was to increase the use of our environment for learning and give ownership to the children.
Our third aim was to take part in a community litter pick to enhance the local area. And to extend this to regular litter picking in our own school grounds.
We applied for funding and trees and hedges from The tree Council. The trees arrived at the end of January 2025. On 6th February a member of the Tree Council provided P3-7 with workshops using our existing trees . The children learned about biodiversity. Interconnections and the link between trees and climate change. They also learned which tree is “their tree” according to an ancient Celtic tradition On February 12th each class in the school planted a tree from the tree council. This gave them ownership of the trees. The Garden group will help with the maintenance of the trees Hedges will be planted in April 2025 when the weather is better (they are being looked after). On February 27th and February 28th all children took part al children took part in a Sponsored Community Litter pick organised by the Schools Charity Group to raise money for SSPCA. This also raised awareness of looking after the local area. On March 10th Information Boards arrived. They will be installed.later in March.
The activities provided an increased awareness of the importance of trees to biodiversity. The children were more aware of their environment and the importance of looking after it.
Next Steps for the school include: Garden beds prepared for planting (15.3.25), Planting Session (April 25), Garden Group lead activities in the grounds for all classes and working together with members of the Galashiels Community Garden.
They will also be Implementing the Climate Action plan created by P6/7 with ClimateReady Classrooms.”
Wow lots going on - we are so impressed! Thank you so much for joining us on Borders Act for Change month.