Cross-community volunteers create new sensory garden at Roddensvale School

The effort, co-ordinated by Splash Community Projects and backed by staff from the Belfast office of Expleo, a global engineering, technology and consulting service provider, saw pupils from St Malachy’s College and the Boys’ Model come together to build the new equipment which will be enjoyed by Roddensvale’s current pupils as well as students for years to come.

Preparatory work was conducted ahead of the main phase of the project, which was carried out on Thursday, June 27, involving around 30 volunteers putting their skills to the test to make the new apparatus.

Speaking to the Larne Times, Managing Director of Splash Community Projects, Simon Poole, explained: “We’re here with our client Expleo and what they have been challenged to do is build a creative sensory playground.

Rob McConnell pictured during the construction phase at Roddensvale School. (Pic: Northern Ireland World).

“The facility will have a big impact on the children as they are losing playground space. This new garden will be imaginative and help the children burn off a bit of energy and enjoy themselves.

"We’ll be developing the memorial section of the garden. It’s an emotive area. We’ve heard some of the stories. Initially it was a space that needed a little bit of work, we’ve removed some old bricks and brought it back to life. Expleo are making seats for it to be a reflective area and everyone is hoping it will be an important part of the playground again.”

Director of Expleo, Rob McConnell, stated: “The whole idea of the project is to solve a community need and to bring our staff and have an experiential learning day for them, involving a lot of comunication, leadership and teamwork type skills.

"In terms of what it means for us as a company, it’s really about giving back, but also about learning and developing.

"I think it will be massive for the school because that area was a bit unusable in the past, so in phase one we tidied it, took away a lot of rubble and made it safe, ready for today. It means that moving forward, all the children will be able to use it.

"The summer scheme will be here in a few weeks and they’ll be able to get full use out of it, before the new term starts in September and it will be fully utilised from then.

"We are delighted to be involved to be able to deliver this for John Madden and Roddensvale.”

Detailing the benefits of the project as work progressed, Splash’s Chairman, Steve Daniels, said: “This is a way of Expleo giving back to the local community and getting a good engagement project for all of their staff.

"The project we’re undertaking today, I’m pleased to say that I’ve lived in Northern Ireland for 27 years, so it’s great to get another project on the island of Ireland. We did the first project with Splash here in 2010. We did a project in Larne a couple of years ago, so I’m delighted we’re able to put back into the community.

“We do projects all over the world, all different scales, all different sizes and we’ve some amazing helpers all around the world, but here particularly with Expleo, it’s a nice little project and it’s going to make such a difference to this school. It’s going to leave a legacy for everyone here and will be able to be used for a number of years to come. It will make a real difference to their lives, a real difference to the community and a real difference to the parents of the children as well.

"We’re dlighted to be able to take what was a dead space that wasn’t being used in any way, shape or form and make it functional for the school. We’re delighted to be here and to be able to contribute and I can’t wait to see the final product.”

Lloyd Comer, Splash Project Manager, added: “We’ve spent several months preparing the designs for this particular project and the whole thing has evolved in colaboration with Roddensvale School and Expleo to make sure the end result is really useful for the children, providing them with some really interactive structures.

"The school’s Principal, John Madden, was very keen and instrumental in including the designs he felt he needed here and then that’s done in collaboration with Expleo to make sure they were achieving their objectives at the same time and then with the design team at Splash to make sure we can tie it all together.

"Timber management and sustainability is really important to us all, from Splash, to Expleo and the school, so we can maximise the number of structures we build with the timber we have. JP Corry have been really helpful providing us the timber and it’s all been in the right place at the right time.”

Principal of The Roddens-based school, Mr John Madden MBE commented: “This investment in sensory equipment, plus additional seating and fencing around our memorial garden, will make a big difference to pupils, staff and the entire school community.

"We need to refresh and maximise learning opportunities for pupils so the sensory equipment will be invaluable for that purpose. We also needed to regenerate our memorial garden and the addition of appropriate seating will give our entire school community the opportunity for an reflective element moment of contemplation.

"On behalf of pupils, staff, governors and the entire school community I wish to pass on my sincere appreciation to Rob McConnell, from Expleo, plus his team of volunteers for the work they put in to deliver the project.

"Abley assisted by the expert guidance of the Splash team, the whole scheme has really delivered for the pupils. The fun and enjoyment the children and young people displayed at the official opening of the play area has made all the planning and work worthwhile.”