Devonshire Hill Primary School, Tottenham
12 October, 2011
8 volunteers gave up their time to help their community for the day.
48 hours served in revitalising Devonshire Hill Primary School.
2 projects volunteered in throughout the school grounds.
One thing that first struck me about Devonshire Hill was their vast amount of outside space. They have a massive field as well as two playgrounds and a vegetable patch. Of course with such a large area, the upkeep can be very difficult, making the school a perfect candidate for a City Year community action day! There was a lot of work to be done with overgrown hedges and looming trees that shut out the sun light from the playground. The window by the main reception was covered with so much ivy that they could barely see outside. We had two main projects for the day: The first was to cut down and uproot the hedges and trees surrounding the front playground as well as pulling up any weeds and ivy; the second was to paint some fences. Our day began with a team of inquisitive looking volunteers, perhaps wondering what these cheerful red jackets had in store for them. They then joined us for some physical exercise before jumping in to their projects. By lunch time, the hedges had suffered complete and utter annihilation at the hands of our saws, secateurs and shears. The painting was also coming along nicely. After lunch we got started on the trees. Some of these were fiendishly difficult to cut down. Sometimes it required one person to pull and the other to saw until the resilient tree finally toppled over. By the end of the day the battle had been won with the trees lying high on the compost heap.
By Rowan Campus
What was the best part of your Community Action Day?
“Giving back to the community.”
“Seeing the work complete, and the difference we made as a team.”
