La Retraite school gets new fencing made of recycled materials   |09 September 2022

La Retraite primary school has now a brand-new fencing made out of recycled materials only, separating the creche area with the road leading to the administration block and other classes. (Read full story on page 3)

La Retraite primary school has now a brand-new fencing made out of recycled materials only, separating the creche area with the road leading to the administration block and other classes.

The fence is 30 metres long and is made out of old ropes and worn out motor cycle tyres only.

This was a long overdue project thought by the school and the school council, Arts teacher Terrence Belle explained.

“We started looking for pallets to make a fence and the playing area for the creche was always a concern. Vehicles use this road daily and we wanted to prevent any accident. After being contacted, Mervin Mathieu came forward to help us.”

“The school also talked to the district administrator who directed us towards Mr Mathieu who is a gifted artist in the field of recycling materials.”

Speaking to our newspaper, Mr Mathieu shared that one day he received a call from the school asking him to help with the project. At the beginning he refused; but his heart melted when he learned that there are some children living with autism at the school and without a barrier this  might be a danger to them.

“Arts is my passion. Even on the national level, I always participate in some projects and even win. When I accepted the project, I had to have an open mind as we wanted to have a completely eco-friendly barrier. I started looking for old, used scooter tyres, old ropes with the boat owners. Being very active in my district also, I asked some of the youth to come help me with the project. This is the only expense I made in this project.”

Mervin Mathieu is a member of the community who is promoting sustainable development using eco friendly resources. He is passionate about such projects and has willingly sponsored the eco-friendly barrier at the La Retraite primary school. The project was done in five days during the school holidays.

Mr Belle also helped in adding some colours on the tyres to make the barrier more appealing to the children.

Now seeing how beautifully the fence has turned out, Mr Mathieu is inviting other organisations or schools to think of recycling materials rather than throwing them in the garbage.

Text and photos by Vidya Gappy