22nd January 2020

Our students are having a fantastic time working with Newlina Eco-gardens, an incredible social enterprise organisation providing inspirational learning in the outdoors. Based in a green and peaceful 2-acre garden near St Newlyn East, staff from Newlina have a wide range of training and experience from organic horticulture, forest schools and permaculture, to music, cooking, storytelling in education and wood craft.

We have been working with Newlina for around three year, with our students involved in planning and creating a comfortable and fun outdoor learning space - complete with “chilling tunnel”, pizza hut, fire pit and outdoor games area. Activities include helping to grow and harvest a wide range of food plants from around the world which they can trace the origins of on a world food map. They also help plan and cook a meal each session and get involved with all kinds of projects; from growing their favourite potatoes to making bird boxes for the burgeoning population, attracted by the wild-life areas. They are also given the time to relax as well as achieve BTEC levels in Land-based Learning and build their maths and literacy skills through vocational learning. With the Forest School ethos in mind, the provision is also about encouraging emotional intelligence so the students are better able to deal with stress. This enables them to learn better as individuals and be more able to work in a team.

The Newlina staff are great at connecting with students and supporting them to learn through their interests and talents. Our Wave staff work alongside them, helping to provide 1:1 support for the students, so each individual’s learning needs can be met. Newlina are launching a crowdfunding project this year to raise money for a warmer shelter and are planning to partner with us to expand the facility to support for more students and activities.