Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to a new home built by SWG!
Ok, it’s not that funny, there was more than one chicken and it wasn’t really a road - but you get what we mean.
Construction of homes, offices and other buildings are what we do on a daily basis, but what you may not have realised is we can also turn our hand to providing new homes for chickens.. and did, at Carreghofa School in Llanymynech.
So just how did all this come about? We were involved in a building project at the school, which keeps five extremely popular chickens with the children, and heard the feathered friends needed a new home so we linked up with Travis Perkins to provide the materials and get the thing built.
It means the children can get to the birds easier to look after them, feed them and collect the eggs in a new purpose-built area. We turned our attention to the chickens after completing an extension at the front of the school incorporating a new reception area and staff room.
As is usually the case with this kind of work, a lot had to be carried out while the school was open. This needs a sensitive approach to minimising any disruption and noise which could have a detrimental effect on the children’s learning.
We have been involved in many school projects through the years and our team is now well versed in how not to disturb staff and pupils.
Headteacher Claire Pritchard said opening an unused area of the grounds in this way was an excellent move and was going to be a great addition to the school. The youngsters clearly love the chickens and also now have an area where they can grow some fruit and vegetables - and don’t kids just love getting involved in that!
Gardening and caring for the chickens are great life experiences and can only be of benefit to the children. There’s some positive benefit to school funds as well, with parents being given the chance of taking eggs in return for a donation.
Our team thoroughly enjoyed our time at the school and our interaction with staff and pupils. It was another wonderful project to be involved in and we are delighted that everyone was so happy with the way the new building project turned out - including the chickens!
