St Nicholas School

Year of Project: 2022

Location: St Nicholas School, Marston

Collaborators: St Nicholas School

Stream: NatureScape

With thanks to: St Nicholas School

The Story

St Nicholas Primary School in Marston borders a cycle path, Marston Ferry Road, and the newly built Swan School. Along the boundary was a tree line of Common Lime, Horse Chestnut, Sycamore, and Beech, which had become overgrown with brambles, saplings, and litter, making it unusable for Forest School activities.
The Nature Effect was invited to create new zones along the boundary so the natural woodland could become accessible for imaginative nature play and outdoor learning, particularly for early years children and pupils from the Base with special educational needs and disabilities.
We asked the children to share their ideas for the space through drawings, writing, and discussion. Their ideas included flowers, trees to nest in, den-making spaces, ropes, and places to gather around a fire

Impact

Working with children, families, teachers, and volunteers, we cleared the woodland area and created pathways, natural play spaces, and areas for Forest School activities. A dead hedge provides habitat for small mammals, while a natural wood gate leads into the existing orchard, alongside a new storage shed and firepit area with log seating for whole-class activities and gatherings.

Woven hazel panels provide screening from the cycle path and fencing, creating a more immersive natural environment where children can explore without feeling surrounded by built structures. The woodland materials cleared from the site have been reused as den-making resources and habitat piles, supporting invertebrates, hedgehogs, and other small mammals.

The firepit mound has been allowed to grow as a wildflower area, increasing biodiversity and creating a space for adventure, exploration, and outdoor learning. While the planned zip wire didn’t become possible, the project has created a foundation for future additions such as platforms and a treehouse, while giving children a rich and imaginative connection to nature.

A backyard garden with a woven wooden fence, several small trees, and purple flowers among green plants.
Overgrown, abandoned garden area with broken wooden logs, dry grass, leafless trees, and bushes.
A blooming pink flowering tree next to a new wooden fence with a pile of branches and twigs, in a lush green garden area.
A wooden garden gate under construction with tools like a hammer, saw, and shovel nearby, in a grassy backyard with tire planters and a wooden fence in the background.
A circle of wooden logs with a ground cover of wood mulch, surrounded by green trees and bushes, with a chain-link fence in the background.