Volunteers help to maintaingarden for outdoor learning

Elson Junior School contacted Community First to see if Lockheed Martin could help after seeing recent press coverage around businesses supporting the community through volunteering.

Of the eight volunteers, two were past pupils and one was a parent of an ex-pupil.

Nathan Colbern, a Gosport resident and employee of Lockheed Martin, said: ‘It has been fantastic to be able to support a school that asked for our help.

‘We enjoyed carrying out the practical tasks associated with keeping a school garden safe and enabling them to make it an educational environment for the children of Elson to enjoy.’

Lockheed Martin has been involved with the Employee Volunteering Scheme since the end of 2014 and has undertaken six community team challenges supporting worthwhile schemes across the region.

Elson Junior School has spent the last five years developing the outside space and relies on the support of the local community to keep it maintained.

Suzi Hoskins from the school said: ‘The benefits of learning outside the classroom are very well documented and there is strong evidence that the learning potential is increased substantially by being more hands-on and practical.

‘Often the barrier to outdoor learning is the time and cost of taking a class on a field trip.

‘By having these amazing grounds and resources on our site, these barriers are instantly removed and the children and staff can take their learning outdoors at every opportunity.

‘We really appreciate the support and help from volunteer groups such as that from Lockheed Martin because this enables us to maintain these grounds to the standard that keeps our children safe. Thank you so much.’

For more information about how you can get involved with the employee volunteering scheme, contact Janet Duggan at [email protected] or telephone 0300 500 8085 ext 9722.