Helping Saint Paul’s students connect with nature

Students at Saint Paul’s Catholic High School will enjoy a new outdoor sensory garden and learning space thanks to a fantastic partnership between us, Bespoke and Connolly Ltd.

The school, which supports many students with special educational needs, wanted to create a safe and welcoming outdoor space where young people could learn, relax and build confidence. The new sensory garden will help students improve their wellbeing, develop practical skills and enjoy learning outside the classroom.

It’s taken over 12 months of persistence and partnership working from our Community Development team to help turn the school’s idea into reality.

After seeing Saint Paul’s Facebook post about their garden, our team worked with them to break down their request into manageable asks for our Community Chest, to ensure they found the right support. Our chest matches local community projects with contractors and suppliers who can offer funding, materials, skills or volunteers.

But finding the right match doesn’t always happen straight away. Our team approached several contractors and had potential partners come forward before later dropping out. They kept going, talking to suppliers, shaping what they could offer and bringing the right people together until Bespoke and Connolly Ltd came on board.

That work is an important part of the Community Chest. Each match is carefully brought together by our Community Development team, who work with suppliers and community groups to make sure projects are realistic and can make a real difference.

Connolly Ltd funded a brand-new storage shed, replaced the old shed base, cleared and prepared the area, built the new shed and donated gardening equipment and solar planter lights.

Bespoke provided volunteers who restored the benches and picnic table, supplied all the materials needed for the work and donated a £500 B&Q voucher, giving the school the chance to buy even more equipment for the garden.

Flo, our Lead Community Development Coordinator, said: “This project demonstrates the power of partnership working and social value. By bringing together contractors, volunteers and community partners, we’ve helped create a welcoming outdoor learning space that will have a lasting impact on the wellbeing, development and future opportunities of Saint Paul’s students. We’re proud to have coordinated the project and grateful to everyone who helped bring the vision to life.”

Christina, Finance Director at Bespoke, shared: “Bespoke wanted to help with this project because majority of our employees are from the local area and also Wythenshawe Community Housing Group tenants, and our founder, Peter Burgess, is also from Wythenshawe, so we felt it was really appropriate to give something back to the wider community.”

Linda, Customer & Social Value Manager at Connolly Ltd, shared: “It’s great to be here, really helping to renovate this space and help pupils connect with nature for their wellbeing. It’s also been fantastic to work with the other teams to deliver some really great social value and create a lasting legacy. We hope this garden will be a perfect space for pupils to enjoy for years to come.”

And we aren’t stopping there! The next phase will make the space even more accessible, with plans to repair the raised beds and install new pathways so wheelchair users can enjoy every part of the garden. But we need some help to make it happen.

Are you a local company that can offer support? If so, please get in touch with our Community Development team here.