Stramash nursery thanks supportive community one year on from fire
Stramash’s hand-built castle sadly burned down just over a year ago, but a concerted effort by supporters meant the outdoor nursery was rebuilt.
The wooden structures were rebuilt and the outdoor nursery held an open day on Saturday to thank everyone who supported them in that difficult time.
Parents and families enjoyed seeing round the newly-designed ‘Yurkie’ the team want to feel like a homeaway-from-home rather than a traditional early learning space.
Cameron Sprague is the team leader for the outdoor nursery and wanted to hold the open day to thank everyone who kindly donated time, money and materials to rebuild.
He said: ‘This was probably the best attended open day we have had at Stramash so far and it felt like everything fell into place with the sun coming out after having such a hard weather week.
‘A lot of parents had not seen the Yurkie, so it was a great opportunity for us to show them inside and how cosy it actually is.
‘It was also an opportunity for us to say thank you for the generous donations hundreds of people and businesses provided.’
While the Yurkie seems like quite a small and humble building from the outside, once through the porch area, where the children can get out of wet and dirty clothes, the main space is open, warm and welcoming.
Cameron continued: ‘Our idea for the space is that it is somewhere the children are comfortable when the weather is too severe outside. They can come in, warm up and dry off before heading back outside.’
While this time last year was a really challenging one for the team, Cameron feels everything has fallen nicely into place.
‘I can’t preach resilience if I don’t practise it myself,’ Cameron added.
‘The support from the community and companies like BSW Timber, which provided wood whenever we asked for it, was amazing.
‘It really helped to get us where we are today. It feels like we are in the right place now.
‘Even just the location is perfect.
‘There was a time a few days ago when it was snowing on Ben Nevis, cloudy over Loch Eil, sunny over us and there was a rainbow heading up to Spean Bridge.
‘It was an incredible teaching moment where I could show the children how the weather works in a way much more engaging than if I had to do it through a computer.’