On Wednesday 4th July we held a staff BBQ in the garden. The weather was beautiful and it was really well attended. Everyone had a lovely time and it was fantastic to see so many people enjoying themselves out there.
Thank you to Aberdeenshire Larder who donated delicious beef burgers...
..and to Ythan Bakery who donated freshly baked sesame buns.
Both contributions helped us raise a fabulous £130 for the garden project, so THANK YOU! :)
Ross and Leyton worked really hard in the heat to mow the grass the day before...
...and we set up chairs at the "new" end of the garden.
Aberdeenshire Larder also gave an onion as we thought we might not have enough. It was no ordinary onion! We were tempted to put it among the crops and pretend it was one of ours growing in the garden!
Our "welcome" figure looked great in the sun...
...and folk enjoyed relaxing in deckchairs chatting.
Great to see staff from all departments...
...and thanks to Colin McLean for taking lovely photos.
Jo Russell and Sarah Kyle deserve a special mention for their help in setting up and clearing away, along with our S1 pupils from the Hub :)
...and to Ian Wilson for the expert cooking!
We cropped and washed our own grown red lettuce to serve with the burgers.
A very special thank you goes to the S4 team of boys: Ryan in charge of the the "Guess the seeds in the jar" competition...
...Ross on the entry table welcoming guests and
Leyton serving drinks to everyone. You worked really hard and many staff commented on your maturity and pleasant attitude so well done to all of you and THANK YOU! You were a credit to yourselves and great ambassadors for the garden :)
Talking of the Seeds in the Jar competition, the winner was announced at the end...
...there were 1108 sunflower seeds in the jar and the closest guess was made by Ian Wilson! He was very happy to choose a hanging basket to take home with him (chosen from the three hanging just in the back of this photograph).
Meanwhile, our crops keep growing...
...let's hope this summer weather continues (with rain showers thrown in to water the garden at night!). We would like to wish all of you a happy holiday doing whatever helps to re-charge those batteries for returning in August! Thank you again to EVERYONE who has helped with the garden this session - another special mention goes to the Ellon Resource Centre group who will continue to look after the plants during the summer break. Your hard work means we can relax during the holidays in the knowledge that the place is being cared for and tended. Please enjoy some red lettuce, berries and chard as it matures and take time too to relax and appreciate the colourful borders :)
Nature update before last sign off!
We have a family of stoats living currently under the flat-pack shed!
Our S1 Hub group spotted them...
...and Mr Richardson got these excellent shots! They are good at keeping the rabbit population in check!
The garden project has definitely provided habitat for more wildlife that when we audited 3 years ago. It includes:
Many insects like bees, wasps, crane flies, butterflies and moths. These then help to attract birds like:
- Robins and thrushes raising broods in the garden and shed extension
- Woodpeckers in the trees behind the garden
- Great tits and sparrows in our nesting boxes made by S4 pupils in technology
- We have many more worms in the soil now along with ground beetles, centipedes, wood lice etc.
- Oyster catchers have also successfully raised chicks in the staff car park area so really, we have a wonderful site to work on here at the academy :)
See you in August! X
Wonderful! What great photos!
ReplyDelete