Building Update

Junior School playground 

We are beyond excited to announce that the Junior School playground will be finalised in the next few days. 

We experienced a delay due to the weather holding up a concrete pour. Last week, Grades 5 and 6 pupils brought the project to life with teamwork and care as they planted the brand-new bamboo forest. This week, Junior School children will also get involved with planting. We are then required to have the space signed-off by a surveyor. Once that approval is complete, we will be open for play!   

Here, we catch up again with Richard Bellemo at RB Landscapes, who spills the beans on what the children can expect from their new space.  

Richard, tell us about the different features in the playground

We’ve built two lovely new entrances using reclaimed timber ‘soldiers’ at different heights, and installed a nice artistic gate. We wanted to do this to enhance the overall look of the school. From there, we wanted to give the kids an opportunity to ‘get into’ the space, with a welcome yard and pathways. 

In the play space there’s a timber log fort and sand pit. There are planted areas, a teepee, and friendship circles. 

We’ve built a water play element which has a water pump, with a cascading creek. 

There’s fun things for the kids to do, such as logs with notches carved into them, so that kids can climb up.  We’ve incorporated ropes, so they can ramble and climb, and built a rope tunnel that connects the two log forts. Also a green slide and monkey bars.

We’ve also planted a bamboo garden. 

Tell us more about the bamboo garden…

I grew up in the Hills, and would go exploring in the lovely country area. There used to be a bamboo forest; it’s a childhood memory that I love, so I’ve been using it since I started my business. 

Bamboo is a tactile plant to get in and amongst. It’s really hardy after two years of establishment. Bamboo grows tall and I love the idea of weaving between the clumps of the plants. It gives the feeling of enclosure and security. It’s a nice spot to chill out and have shade, and it has a rounded loose pebble sensory floor. 

What other plants have you used? 

Whatever we plant needs to be hardy. We use a lot of grasses because they will bounce back, as opposed to a woody plant, which has branches that can snap. We also really like grasses because they move and sway. 

We’ll also have shade trees. A Canadian maple is going in to complement the existing elms. It makes a great shade tree, and I love the autumn leaves. There’s a nice sensory element as the kids play with them. 

The screening plants around the service box will be Grevillia olivacea. Birds love them.  

We want the kids to interact with the plants and the natural material, so it’s not all solid garden beds. When we plant the Calamagrostis grass, we plant it in groups: ten in one, twenty in another, etc. We plant in a way that creates openings that then become passages the kids use as pathways.  

Will the teepee have a climber growing up it? 

We only have about 30% success in growing a vine up the teepee but we will try. Either Wisteria or Jasmine - it has to be vigorous. Plants are very challenging in a school yard!

Now that the project is finishing, tell us: who was noisier at recess – the kids in the playground, or your digger? 

Definitely the kids!