The completion of a school yard project is on the horizon at J.A. Cuddy School in Sanford.

The conversation of how to improve the school yard has been brewing for four years now, said principal Scott Thomson, but now students can look forward to new additions such as updated sports fields, an outdoor classroom, a garden centre, a tunnel, and a pathway, for September. Thomson said the sports fields will not be finished until spring 2018, however.

The principal noted that the addition of educational elements such as the outdoor classroom and the garden centre will help to improve learning among students.

"Everybody learns differently ... there are people that learn better in an outdoor area ... research shows that they actually learn better in that situation, so this is one more aspect of trying to make sure that we're reaching all of the students and helping them all learn," said Thomson.

As for the garden centre, Thomson said the school will produce plants that reflect the community's agricultural background to teach students the different types of crops grown in the area.

Over three years the school and the parent advisory council has been collecting funds for the project and reached their goal of around $240,000. They were also granted $15,000 in funding from Farm Credit Canada.