The team at Corby’s Pen Green have been left delighted after a construction firm kindly donated their time and resources to provide the children’s centre with a free outdoor renovation.
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00:00My name is David Rowe. I'm the project manager for Volker Fitzpatrick. We've just finished
00:07building the large distribution centres down on the A46. Part of our ethos as a business is to
00:14leave a lasting legacy within the communities that we work within. Part of it is that we want
00:18to leave a long-lasting impression and say thank you to the community for obviously
00:23being patient with us whilst we're here building and carrying out construction works.
00:27So it goes back to early 2023 whereby we were engaging with the local food bank
00:36and we were asking if there's any local charities that we can get involved with
00:40and Martin down at the food bank recommended obviously Pen Green to donate some easter eggs
00:46because we carried out an easter egg appeal in easter time 2023. So we contacted Pen Green
00:54and asked if they would like to receive some for the obviously the families in the wider community.
00:59So we brought them down, obviously relied heavily on our supply chain for donations,
01:04collected over 700 easter eggs, loaded them to the van, brought them down and they were very
01:09well received. Whilst we were here we asked if there was any further ways we can engage
01:14with the community centre and they advised yeah it would be those areas of opportunity for that.
01:23So as we left, as we further engaged throughout the year with the community centre got towards
01:29the end of 2023 and revisited here and come back to see have a meeting with the team
01:36and identified areas of development within the gardens and the way we could get involved and help
01:40out to bring this up to the standard that's required. When we arrived here was areas in
01:46need of development and a little bit of disrepair so we've relied on our supply chain.
01:50We got in contact with our supply chain to see how they could help us out and obviously donate
01:57their time and materials. It looks fantastic, the supply chain have done a fantastic job.
02:03Some members of my team have done a really great job in terms of managing it.
02:07As the Pen Green have already advised that we literally from start to finish manage the whole
02:12process and the package so the planning, the management, supply the materials and obviously
02:16executing it to what it is today and it just looks fantastic. I think given that there's
02:21children involved it's really satisfying to know that they've got somewhere now to play.
02:27Previously we touched on that obviously during Covid a lot of children were excluded from the
02:32outside environment and now they've got an area where they can play which is full of greenery,
02:37trees and activities, climbing ropes etc. So it's really really going to help them and it's great
02:45to see and it's really rewarding for us to see that end result. I just think for us really with
02:52lack of funding we have really struggled with keeping you know upkeep in the garden space and
02:58I think the outdoors is so important for particularly small children but all children really.
03:03I mean when you think about sort of their overall development their physical development is one of
03:08the prime areas that kind of underpins all their areas of learning and so we're very passionate
03:13about having an outdoor space that is a safe outdoor space for small children and so many of
03:19our children lack that in their home lives. We have a lot of children that live in flats
03:24and a lot of our children that really missed out on sort of outdoor physical spaces throughout Covid
03:29so we just we're very passionate about ensuring that the outdoor space is available to them
03:33and that it's you know that it's a rich environment as well. So I mean being able to
03:38have somebody that's willing to invest and contribute to the upkeep of the garden has just
03:42been so invaluable and the children have absolutely loved being out here we can't we
03:47can't get them back inside now. Throughout the whole process the children were really interested
03:52in watching so there was there was big metal railings all the way along but we were able to
03:55get outside but we would just be able to stand behind the railings but even the whole process
03:59of just watching that real work taking place I think it almost provided a sense of anticipation
04:04and real build-up so actually when those when those barriers were eventually removed and they
04:08were able to go and explore that they just they all charged it was they were just really excited
04:14and just so many of them there's so much to explore as well it's not just sort of one area
04:18um you know we've got the steps and things that have provided a real physical challenge now we've
04:23got a beautiful shed area down at the bottom of the garden for imaginative play the beautiful
04:27bridge area which the children really enjoy using putting the taking the bikes and things over the
04:31ramps so um so the children are just they're absolutely utilizing it and taking it to its
04:36advantage really. It'll be huge um like I said sort of in terms of children's overall development
04:42when we're thinking about the overall curriculum in planning for children the outdoor areas are
04:46really really important and their physical development is so important for even things
04:50that people don't really think of in terms of their early writing skills and things like that
04:54in order to become a writer one day you have to have real core skills um and and core strength
05:00and that that only comes from being outside and really building that in terms of whether it's
05:04riding a bike whether it's balancing whether it's negotiating steps and I think sometimes we
05:09forget those those processes that have to take place in that very early childhood and that's
05:13why outdoor spaces are so important so you know to be able to offer this to all of the children
05:18that come and attend here is just it's so invaluable for their entire development so we're
05:22just we're really really grateful to them we didn't have the funding available to be able to
05:28do the repairs and do this kind of work which we desperately so desperately wanted for the children
05:33um so for them to to offer that service and really put something back into the community
05:38we will just be forever grateful and I know whilst the children don't understand the whole
05:42process and that they've given that you know the children absolutely are grateful for the
05:46experiences that they get in here.