A school garden is a wonderful way to learn lessons in a creative, yet practical, way. It can be a place to learn green skills, to study the environment, to inspire art and execute design, to observe and conserve. Even a small patch can enrich the education of school children from nursery all the way to A Level.
A mother daughter in their garden in London © David Millington
Land of opportunity
Get students involved right from the initial research stages right through to the garden’s design and construction. Where in the grounds could a garden be planted? Is there a disused corner of a playing field or playground, or a wall with space for a trellis? If space is an issue you may wish to consider approaching a local allotment association. Members may even allow you to jump the often very long waiting list!
Alternatively, Landshare could introduce you to a private landowner with space in their garden to spare. Perhaps not as convenient, but it could improve your school’s links to the wider community. While researching your space you can register your school for and add your garden to the list of activities taking place.
Outdoor classroom
You can begin to explore the power of outside spaces by visiting existing green spaces or other school gardens near you. This will give insight on how you can increase the interest and educational potential of the garden.
You and your students could investigate and introduce bird feeders and baths, bat boxes, ponds and compost heaps. Students will take responsibility if they are involved in as many stages as possible. Once the garden is established it can become an extension of the classroom.
Primary learning
Younger children can learn mapmaking and use grid references to locate interesting features outside. Teach them how to differentiate soil types. What impact do different soils have on the growth of different vegetables and how can controls be used to make experiments meaningful?
Marigolds and sunflowers grown by younger classes will attract bees, which could lead to discussion of symbiosis and fertilisation. If bee populations continue to reduce, could we fertilise our crops by hand, perhaps with a paintbrush?
Secondary learning
More complex issues for older students include organic versus conventional horticulture. Introduce concepts including ecosystems, trophic levels, bioaccumulation of pesticides and eutrophication, and invite students to design experiments with which to explore them.
Older students might benefit from field trips to botanical gardens, like Wakehurst Place, to further investigate these themes. Take a look at the full list of environmental or ecological centres listed on Engaging Places.
Students attending their garden at Redhill C of E Primary School, Worcester © Ashley Bingham and Mark Ellis, A&M Photography
School garden teaching activities
1. Make holes in the side of a bucket, fill it with a mix of soil and woodchips, and bury it. Top it up with soil from time to time and it will become a home for many species of insects, possibly including stag beetles.
2. An informal rockery will provide a home for insects in the winter. Planting bulbs such as crocuses between the stones will provide an early source of nectar for insects in the spring. Smearing yoghurt on the rocks will attract lichen. This sort of environment is great for slugs and snails, which might in turn attract thrushes and hedgehogs.
3.A loosely stacked log pile provides another home for insects such as ladybirds and stag beetles, as well as a place for hedgehogs to hibernate overwinter.
4. Place a shallow birdbath in the shade near some trees and prickly bushes. Birds will be able to perch and survey the scene before approaching, while cats will have trouble getting close.
Ideally it should have 360 degree views so birds can spot predators, be topped up regularly, and be cleaned every couple of weeks. A tennis ball in the bowl can prevent it freezing over in winter. Put in a sloping ramp to help any small animals which fall in.
5. Install bat and bird boxes in sheltered spots on trees and walls, at least two metres off the ground. All wood should be untreated. A pond will attract bugs for the bats to feed on, while evening primroses are irresistible to moths, another favourite food.
6. Hang up a bundle of bamboo canes or twigs from a string to attract lacewings and other insects.
7. Try a variety of bird feeders – lard cakes, seed feeders, peanut meshes, and half coconuts. Stale bread can be left out too.
8. Let some nettles grow in a corner. Ladybirds, bees, red admirals, tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies love them.
9. A compost heap. This might include a glass side with which to observe decomposition and worm activity, providing a way into nutrient cycles and organic fertilisation. Perhaps students could spread the finished product on the rest of the garden.
10. A corrugated zinc sheet on the ground might even attract slow worms and lizards. Left in the open it will heat up – lift it quickly to reveal the reptiles basking underneath.
11. The economics of farming could be introduced with seasonal sowing and crop rotation, while the inevitable lumpiness of your own-grown fruit and vegetables might prompt discussion of the aesthetic perfection we have come to expect of supermarket produce and the resultant decrease in taste and increase in waste.
12. It would be a good idea to form a holiday club to look after the garden outside of school term.
School gardens: Support and teaching resources
Landshare
Royal Horticultural Society
Garden organic
The Soil Association
Food for Life educational resources
Farming for All
BBC Breathing Places - nature spaces near you
