It was perhaps one of the last sunny days of the year. Bathed in sunlight, armed with shovels and spades, on the 12th November a group of cheery volunteers headed down to a patch of overgrown land alongside the Thames. 

 

Surbiton High School has acquired an area of land, part of the Queen’s Promenade Gardens, not more than 10 minutes from the school which they are aiming to convert into a Well-being Garden, available to the entire local community.

 

In an effort to clean up the overrun land, Mr Bird, head of community outreach at the school organised an ‘Action Day’ in which students, parents, teachers, siblings all joined forces at the riverbank, got their hands dirty and watched the messy tangle of foliage slim down into a sleek area of land. 

 

The day started at 12, with the first batch of volunteers throwing themselves into the tiring work of sweeping leaves and piling grass into bin bags, keeping spirits high with frequent coffee breaks and cheering on the Surbiton row team as they sped past the bank. By 2 o’clock most of the clearing had been done and the next volunteers pulled out the final stubborn roots and began shovelling on the manure and finally planting bulbs.

 

As the afternoon ended, the land was unrecognisable. Mr Bird reflected on the day: ‘It’s been amazing, it’s been absolutely brilliant. We had a hundred students and parents sign up to come and help us today, lots of willing hands, everyone getting involved and really enjoying a day out on the riverside.’

 

Plans for the ‘Community Wellbeing Garden’ are still being discussed: Mr Bird hopes that students and teachers will work together to maintain the area.