Families step out to raise £1,800 for Aberdeen school's sensory garden

More than £1,800 was raised for Orchard Brae by Lisa, Sarah and their families through a sponsored walk

Two Aberdeen families have helped to raise more than £1,800 for an Aberdeen school.

Lisa Simons and her friend Sarah Cruickshank started a fundraiser to benefit Orchard Brae School on Howes Road, which is hoping to start a sensory garden.

Starting with a target of £200 less than a week before the event was to take place, it was smashed very quickly, leading Lisa to raise the target higher.

The sensory garden will help provide the pupils, who have additional support needs, with another fun and interesting place to interact with.

To help out, Lisa, 40 and Sarah, 41, and their children took on a 5k walk from Cults to Duthie Park on Sunday, alongside Lisa’s sons Declan, 9 and Ollie, 7, and Sarah’s son Conor, 6, all of whom attend the school, as well as Sarah’s daughter Ella, 3 and their partners.

Lisa, from Kincorth, said: “It came about after we saw an article in the Evening Express that a member of staff at the school had been searching for help for the sensory garden and we thought it would be good for the kids.

“Mine and Sarah’s boys go to Orchard Brae and we wanted to do something to help out before they went back to school and we decided to go for a walk.

“We just wanted to give them a hand in raising a bit of money, get them some materials for it or something for in the garden that’s going to benefit the whole school.

“We planned to do a 5k starting at Cults and walking into Duthie Park. One of my sons has a heart condition and is autistic, and the other is autistic, as is Conor.

“We were originally going to do the Kiltwalk 5k route but we thought they might struggle a bit with the walk.

“It went really well, the boys managed to walk most of the way and only used their wheelchair and buggy for a little bit. It was a really nice day.

“The boys were fantastic and we’re really pleased with how much we raised for the school.”

Lisa said she was surprised by how much money was raised so quickly, after the fundraiser was only started at the beginning of last week.

She said: “It just kept going up and up, so I kept adjusting the target.

“I felt a bit bad asking for money at this time but it’s for the kids, we’re just helping.

“I originally set the target at £200 and thought if we get that, that’s fantastic.

“It’s been a tough few months for them.”