In 2018, Cambourne Village College was awarded a PEBBLE fund grant of £2,000 for its community sensory garden.

The project was to encourage student involvement and foster a sense of ownership. Designs of the community sensory garden were led by the students, with these elements being incorporated into the final delivery of the garden.

The school has worked closely with Kier, RHS East of England, Madingley Gardens and Cambridge Botanic Gardens to create the sensory garden.

The PEBBLE fund was used by the school to prepare an area of unused ground so that it could be used by the community.   This included, with the support of Kier,  the creation of a pond on site which provides a home to many amphibians and invertebrates such as pond skaters, water snails, worms and newts. The funds were also used to increase biodiversity in the sensory garden.

The students have planted 100 saplings to create a mixture of woodland and wetland habitats, providing a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.


They have also planted various plants and herbs to support local wildlife and create new habitats.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the school distributed gardening packs to a number of families across their vulnerable pupils. These parcels were greatly received and developed a gardening interest in many families that had no prior gardening experience. The plans to engage the wider community of Cambourne in the project were temporarily halted due to the pandemic but the school are hoping to host a wildflower bulb day in Autumn 2021, if restrictions have eased.

Posted: October 2021