Mud kitchens set for every primary school in Renfrewshire

Pupils are set to get their hands dirty as every primary school in Renfrewshire receives a brand-new mud kitchen.

Designed to inspire imagination and creativity through messy play, the mud kitchens were a huge success with the area’s nurseries after being gifted earlier this year and now primary school children are set to see the benefit.

Made from recycled pallets, they provide an immersive, multi-sensory experience for children to get their hands dirty making mud pies and soil smoothies while interacting with their peers.

Gail Scoular came up with the idea while in her role as Renfrewshire Council Senior Warden and fundraised in her own time to ensure there was no cost to the forty-nine primary schools, with the council’s Unpaid Work Team carrying out the work to create them.

Gail said: “I’m so happy that more and more young people will have access to a mud kitchen and have the chance to discover the joy of outdoor play.

“They’ll be able to use their imaginations to create culinary inventions, while bonding and building relationships with their peers.

“It’s a fantastic way to encourage young people to enjoy the great outdoors and who doesn’t like to get their hands dirty once in a while!”

The kitchens will encourage young children to see the benefits of working together and to find enjoyment in the great outdoors, ensuring they appreciate their local environment which is a key tie in with Renfrewshire’s Team Up to Clean Up campaign.

Councillor Cathy McEwan, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to provide brand-new mud kitchens to each of our primary schools after the brilliant reaction we had from our nurseries earlier in the year.

“A big part of our Team Up to Clean Up campaign is encouraging people to work together while enjoying being outdoors and appreciating our local environment and these kitchens will hopefully inspire our young people to get out in their gardens and green spaces and take care of where they live.”

Donations were made by UNITE, GMB Union and enva which facilitated the purchase of tools for use in the mud kitchens.

For more information on the Team Up to Clean Up campaign, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/teamuptocleanup.