Giving New Life To Gruffland For Future Generations
Help us fundraise for future generations of Mill Lane pupils! Our wild area is in need of love and care to make it accessible for potentially wonderful learning opportunities. On nearly an acre of space we hope to create: a sensory garden, bird watching area, outdoor reading area, rejuvenated pond, woodland classroom, enclosure for Pygmy goats, den building area and a kitchen garden- for growing fruit and veg that the pupils will eat in school. By allowing pupils to be immersed in these natural areas, we hope they will learn the importance of nature, sustainability and a love of the outdoors that will last a lifetime.
With your donations we can really make a difference- not just for our pupils, but also for the natural environment.
With your donations we can really make a difference- not just for our pupils, but also for the natural environment.
The Birth of Gruffland
The current Mill Lane School, opened in September 1974, was meant to be one of three schools on Mill Lane. However, by 1976 plans for the Mill Lane Infants' and Secondary schools had been quietly shelved due to a lack of funding. However, left with this large area of wasteland, the ever-resourceful staff and volunteers at Mill Lane decided the land should have a purpose and Gruffland was born, giving the school's pet goat a proper home.
In Need of Rejuvenation!
Fast forward nearly 50 years and Gruffland was looking in a sorry state. With the goat, donkeys and chickens all gone, the area had become a wildlife garden but gradually, over time, many self-seeded trees, hawthorn and brambles were beginning to take over, sapping any further growth and making the area dark, even on the brightest of days.
A Work in Progress
The beginning of June 2024 saw the official start of work on Gruffland, beginning with a week of tree surgery and scrub clearance. The improvement is already enormous! Now work can start on shaping and creating the different areas.
Enterprising Pupil Fundraising!
We are very lucky to have such dedicated pupils at Mill Lane School! With such determination, some groups of pupils have been busy raising money in extremely enterprising ways to help fund our Gruffland project.
Find out more below...
Chinnor Litter-Pickers!
Not content with the amount of litter in their neighbourhood, a group of mainly Year 3 children undertook a litter pick in the village and cleared the streets of 4 large sacks of litter within an hour, which was split into recyclable and non-recyclable waste.
In the process they have currently raised £630 for the Gruffland project which we all agree is an absolutely outstanding amount.
Those who took part in picking and fundraising were (all year 3) Fletcher, Phoebe, Zac, Josh, Miles, Evie L, Finley and Paisley (who unfortunately couldn't attend due to breaking her arm but did some awesome fundraising). We were also joined by Mathew (Phoebe's brother) from Year 6 and Harrison (Fletcher's little brother) and Lewis (Josh's little brother), both due to start reception in September.
All for the love of loom bands
It seems that our Year 3 children are a very enterprising bunch, as Florence and Molly have also been busy raising money by making and selling loom bands. Aided by Florence's brother Charlie (Year 5) and friend Max (also Year 5), the team have made hundreds of loom bands which the girls have sold, both in school and in the local community too. They have raised over £100 and we are so impressed with their efforts. Keep an eye out at our Funday on 28th June, as there will be a loom band stall incase you missed the chance to buy one. The bands are also available to buy at the Biker Bean Cafe (in the old Nicholls shop building).
A visit from the new 'kids' on the block
It was with great excitement that today we welcomed goats back to Mill Lane for the first time in over 35 years! These were the three female kids, who were born about a month ago, that we will be adopting at the school in September, in celebration of 50 years of the school. All of the children were able to meet the goats today, including those at Jack and Jill Playgroup who also came to visit. We now have the task of coming up with three names for the goats, as well as building their enclosure and shelter. What an exciting time!
More Information About Our Project
Please Support Us!
Your donations, however big or small, will make an enormous difference to us. Please use the QR Code, or the link below to access our Crowd Funding page.
If you would like to support us by joining one of our volunteer parties, or know of local businesses who would be happy to help, please get in touch with our school office on 01844 352106 or by emailing: office.2465@mill-lane.oxon.sch.uk. We would love to hear from you.
