Bring beauty to your school with a new garden
Bring beauty to your school with a new garden
Children get great enjoyment from being outdoors. They’re curious, taking joy from learning when it’s practical and creative. Gardening week is from the 2nd to the 8th of May this year, so what better time to start than now? Creating a school garden could be the start of a lifelong passion for children. What’s more, they get the satisfaction of watching something evolve from a tiny seed into a beautiful plant or even vegetables they can go on to eat.
It’s also fair to say that most children love getting in the dirt! By making mud pies and planting healthy vegetables, children even strengthen their immune system.
This is just the start of a long list of reasons why school gardening is so beneficial for children. Check out our recent blog here to learn how to look after your school garden. As an SBM, it can be difficult to know what to do and where to start. So, to get started, we have set out some tips for creating your new school garden.
How to design your school garden
- First thing to do is establish a site where you are going to create your school garden. Are there any permanent features which you will have to work around?
- Establish the purpose of the garden. Is it to attract wildlife or to become an environmental area, in which case what plants are best for attracting bees and butterflies?
- Maybe you want to create an edible garden so that students can enjoy the fruits of their labour or share their produce with the rest of the school by donating it to the kitchen staff. Many edible crops can be grown in pots or containers so even those with little space can have a productive kitchen garden.
Incorporate sustainability
Try to include a compost heap and water butt to help your school reduce, reuse and recycle whenever possible. Upcycled sinks, old toys or wellies can make great planters and reusing plastic bottles or pots in the garden can teach children the importance of recycling.
Choose plants suitable for your site and conditions – for example, if you have a shaded plot, it’s unlikely that tomatoes and sunflowers will thrive – instead, turn to forest favourites like ferns and forget-me-nots for variety. This may take a little more time, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Implement your plan
Try to involve the children as much as possible in the garden build as this helps them form a feeling of ownership and care towards it. Children can think up the most wonderful ideas and although not everything can be implemented, it might spark a great idea that will be loved by all.
Make sure labels with the names of the plants are written in a large, easy-to-read font. You could even get the children to make the labels or signs.
Establish a group to progress the project and maintain the garden – people within the school community may well have gardening skills and want to help!
Benefits of gardening in school
Sense of achievement
Traditional classroom activities often involve passive learning as children read aloud and listen to their teachers. But activities in an outdoor garden classroom bring abstract concepts to life through active, hands-on learning. School garden programs use typical gardening tasks, such as planning, planting, caring and harvesting, to illustrate cultivation. Plants, insects, birds and weather all become participants in the learning process. As a result, children are more engaged, more attentive and more motivated to learn.
Learn about the environment
Through school gardens, children experience the rewards of fresh produce and the process that brings them to pass. They learn to understand the natural growth of plants — from seeds to sprouts to flowers to fruits — and the impact that rain, drought, and other forces of nature have on plant life. Children learn first-hand the connection between nature, their own food supply, and the pollinators and other creatures their school garden ecosystem attracts and supports.
Social and community skills
School gardens encourage teamwork, individual responsibility and a commitment to success. School gardens strengthen bonds between school gardeners, schools and communities. Many gardens involve community volunteers, who assist students as they plant, tend and learn. Increased interaction between children, teachers and volunteers encourages growth in interpersonal and cooperative skills that follow children throughout their lives.
School gardens and the lessons they teach can improve the lives of children from all backgrounds in many ways. This positive impact flows outward to the people and communities within the school. Create your new school garden in time for summer and get your school involved in the process.
If you have any other tips or advice on creating a new school garden, let us know on Twitter.
