STAFF, parents and pupils of Highbury Preparatory School have combined their efforts to renovate the farmyard on the Kloof and Highway SPCA grounds.
The project was born out of a dire need of the SPCA, as the farmyard was not functional. The fence was falling down, the duck pond was leaking and there was no place for the chickens to roost.
Highbury, who recognised the need, elected the SPCA as its 2014 outreach beneficiary. “Parents were asked to donate building material as well as labour. As an environmentally conscious school we asked them not to go out and buy new material, but to donate old materials that were lying around at their homes. We wanted to encourage recycling,” said Lisa Abbott, the school’s marketing and communications coordinator. Some parents did donate new material as well.
The pupils also elected to donate R3 000 that they had raised during their annual market day towards the project.
In November 2013, the first phase of the project was initiated and the fence around the farmyard was replaced and a shelter for the sheep and roosters was erected. The duck pond was also repaired and resealed.
For the second phase, the school hopes to erect roosting perches and repair the pig sty. They also plan to plant some indigenous plants and grass; lay paths and paint the back wall the familiar SPCA blue.
“We are a community school and we try to get involved in the community where ever we can. We have supported a number of local community projects and the SPCA has been one of them. The SPCA is a local NPO, and it would make sense for us to support its worthy cause,” said Abbott.
The farmyard was renamed the Highbury Haven in January, and the school hopes to complete the renovations by the end of February.
