Helping Schools To Garden
Our work with schools focuses on the use of horticulture in the curriculum and in extra curricular activities and involves the whole school community.
Every project we support must have the active involvement of pupils right through from early ideas to how best to maintain the garden. Headteachers tell us this has helped bring about a school ethos of care, ownership and responsibility.
Our programmes for schools include Wheelbarrow Workshops, a School Grounds Awards Scheme, Garden Information Sheets, site visits and talks, all operated through a team of dedicated volunteers, hand-picked for their expertise and experience in landscape and garden design, teaching and school governorship.
Our 2012 Spring Summer Wheelbarrow Workshops for primary schools focus on growing plants to eat. We show the children lots of growing examples and they all get a chance to sow or sprout different seeds and even get to make and plant a paper pot to take home.
HGT's School Grounds Awards are usually held each year with information about application forms and deadline for entries sent in April through HCC's school courier bag system.
The Awards Scheme is open to primary schools and offers up to £250 to help with setting up or further developing an outdoor classroom, school gardening club or a project which enhances school grounds for learning and enjoyment. Schools can apply for tools and any kind of raw materials other than plants and trees and must show that pupils are involved at every stage of development.
Our Garden Information Sheets are full of practical advice on anything from planting and aftercare to tools, hedging and screening, poisonous plants, gravel gardening, compost making, paths and paving, saving seeds, plants for a sunny site to plants for shade, vegetables, polytunnels and cold frames, herbs, heritage running a school gardening club and many more. They are all free.
Also free are our site visits for those schools who have particular problems in either setting up, design, planting plans or maintenance.
If you are a school and interested in receiving our Garden Information Sheets, would like a school visit or a talk then please get in touch with:-