MSSI's Community Garden Project in Castle Vale

This social value case study highlights how MSS Infrastructure (MSSI) helped Topcliffe Primary Academy bring a community garden to life.

The Project: A Garden Built for Learning

The MSSI Birmingham Team worked alongside Topcliffe Primary Academy to plan and build a community garden for pupils aged 5 to 11, providing a hands-on space to learn about the environment and understand where food comes from.

The Team Behind the Garden

To make it happen, MSSI donated the equipment the school needed to get started, including spades, brushes, gloves, a compost bin, and plants. Over the weeks leading up to the garden's completion, several members of our Birmingham team spent 20 hours on site at Topcliffe Primary Academy, working hands-on with 30 pupils aged 5 to 11 to help build it. Our team members who contributed their time are John Gibson (Head of Operations – Civils & Port), Sharon Smith (Labour Manager), Brian Hopkinson (Account Manager – NR North West Route), and Rebecca Gibson (Social Value Advisor).

Their effort reflects something we hold across Team MSSI. People with experience in rail, civil engineering, and infrastructure bring more to a community than the skills to build. They bring a genuine commitment to building things that last.

Opening Day: The Garden Comes to Life

On 17 June 2026, our CEO Dermot McGinley joined the team to officially open the garden. Dermot led a school assembly attended by 130 pupils from various year groups and met with Topcliffe's eco team, linking the project to the wider infrastructure work MSSI supports, including our work with HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd. It was a chance to show pupils that the people building the UK's infrastructure are the same people who show up for their local community and that the two are more connected than they might think.

What This Means for Topcliffe's Pupils

Topcliffe's pupils, aged 5 to 11, now have a dedicated space to grow their own food, learn about the environment, and take pride in something they helped create. It's a small patch of ground with a big impact: teaching responsibility, patience, and curiosity in a way no classroom lesson alone can.

In Their Words

Amie Milligan, Deputy Headteacher at Topcliffe Primary Academy, shared this feedback after the visit:

"I would like to take an opportunity to say a huge Topcliffe thank you to everyone who has supported us from MSS Infrastructure. From the initial planning of the partnership right through to the hands-on activities with our children — we cannot thank you all enough. The children loved the assembly and are still talking about it. The visit from Dermot and the team has given the children a boost to be involved in the future of the garden, the future of Topcliffe and a future of their own."

Why Community Work Is Part of Our Story

MSSI was built on hard work, dedication, and a genuine commitment to the people we work with. That commitment doesn't stop at recruitment. As one of the UK's largest specialist infrastructure recruitment agencies, we're in a unique position to connect the dots between the industry we serve and the communities that industry runs through, and Castle Vale is a clear example of what that looks like in practice.

Thank you to everyone involved, and to Topcliffe Primary Academy for the warm welcome.

Want to learn more about MSSI's social value work and how we support the communities around our infrastructure projects? Get in touch with our CSR team.