Fersands and Fountain SCIO (a charity run by local residents who manage the nursery) employed an architect and contractor, and work began in June 2023 with the hope the garden would be open in late July 2023. In short, that the work would take six to seven weeks.

Eleven months later in April 2024 the new garden area is ready to open , but there is still work that remains unfinished.

Nursery children, staff and parents feel devastated that the work has taken so long . They have done without any outside space for all this time.

Following a number of disputes with the original builders, we had to end the contact and this led to extra legal and professional costs. The money we paid to the original contractor is gone and we’re struggling to get the job finished at all.

Even though we now have great new builders helping us out, it looks like we will not have enough money to complete the whole garden and we need to raise around £15,000, to get the job done.

Ironically, our original small garden space (which was perfectly good), had to be ripped up at the beginning of the project and this area is now left totally unsafe and unusable.

This is a fantastic nursery. It has developed well over many years and it has obtained excellent reports from care inspectorate and the Aberdeen Early Learning Childcare Locality Officer.

Most of the children live in tenement flats and can’t easily access outdoor facilities. This outside space is vital for the physical and emotional well-being of forty-plus energetic children. Having an attractive outdoor space would mean so much to them. The nursery staff have been working hard to give the children all the experiences and opportunities, despite all the difficulties of not having our garden for a prolonged period of time.

We get so much support from local families who use the service but we serve a disadvantaged area of Aberdeen with many vulnerable families and not many people have money to spare in these cash-strapped times.

The Family Centre workers are on a mission to raise some funds and give the children a garden they deserve. They have a number of activities planned, including a family fun game night, a staff and children’s sponsored walk and family disco night. They have also started a ‘Go Fund Me’ page. Please HELP us by following, sharing and supporting us in whatever way you can.

Contact Mark Lovie. Project Co-ordinator etc. email phone.