Children’s centre garden blossoms thanks to Redrow trainees

Children at Wrexham Early Years Centre have a revamped play area and garden to enjoy after a team of trainees from homebuilder Redrow took on a makeover challenge.

The outdoor area at the school, which caters for children aged two to five with additional learning needs, was looking tired and “in need of some TLC” according to head teacher Rhian Hughes.

A team of 13 graduates and undergraduates from Redrow, all from different regional offices and backgrounds, came together to help, sourcing all materials on a £0 budget from generous suppliers before carrying out the work themselves.

John Kelso, 34, a Redrow construction graduate, explains: “We visited the school and saw that the garden was in need of some love.

“It took a few weeks to source materials from local garden centres and suppliers, to whom we are all extremely grateful, and then five days to transform the space.

“The first day we removed all of the weeds and any equipment that couldn’t be repaired, then over the next few days we added a new pergola, decking, planting, willow fencing, tree seats, stepping stones and a den area with play bark.

“We even transformed the old sandpit with decking and railway sleepers into an area for story time, painted the shed and added a new roof to it, and treated all of the existing play equipment.”

Rhian said: “We feel so lucky that Redrow chose us to receive help from its team of graduates. It was a fantastic experience and they are an absolute credit to Redrow – so friendly and funny but very professional and their work ethic is fantastic. We’ve really missed them since they have been gone.

“They created a garden that feels very natural and holistic, which is exactly what we wanted and they took all our wishes into account. We’re absolutely thrilled with the result. It looks wonderful.”

The Redrow graduate community project is an annual event which brings together a team from the 15% of Redrow employees who are either apprentices, graduates or trainees.

While supporting Redrow’s vision of creating thriving communities and valuing people, it also encourages the employees to work together and develop new skills such as negotiation.

Clare Hindley, new entrant programmes manager for Redrow, which has its UK headquarters at St David’s Park, Ewloe, supported the team.

Clare said: “We’re so proud of what the graduates have achieved. They’ve created something very special at The Wrexham Early Years Centre.

“It was a pleasure to see the results of all of their hard work and the smiles on the children’s faces.

“We’d like to thank all of the suppliers and sub-contractors who also donated materials, tools and time so the project could be completed on a £0 budget.”