School Garden Project
School Garden Project - Outdoor Classroom
The International Garden Programme
- The heart of the programme is in the creation of the international garden.
- It will be the centre-piece for an “all green” school.
- It will be able to grow and expand in any area of the outdoor space.
A sense of achievement is grown out of the children being involved in the construction of the International Garden. While being supervised by Bradleys Horticulture and members of teaching staff, children with different levels of ability can help create the new garden. Tasks like raking gravel and moving tyres are suitable for 4th to 6th classes, while the younger classes can fill planters with compost and plant bulbs. An opportunity for all students to work together! Both children and adults all feel the effects of Social & Therapeutic Horticulture.
The garden will consist of plants from all around the world, taking into account students cultures and personal preferences. The gardeners will also give a helping hand with choice of plants to be used in the garden and ensure there is a great variety, getting all students involved. Our schools are becoming more diverse with Children from many different ethnic backgrounds.
International Gardens’ the way to go!
- Children that may have been born in Ireland to parents from different countries can sometimes feel different or even excluded.
- The international garden gives all children a chance to express their family origins through plants from their parents homes or even their own personal roots.
- The national plants of different countries are decided and planted by the children. The conversation of a families roots can be discussed at home and brought into the school.
- Inclusion is the one of the main aims of the garden. Children get a chance to get involved and take ownership of their garden.
When the garden is fully completed it then becomes a new meeting place. A place to relax and chat. A place that will enable children to learn about a friend`s national plant. A place were a teacher can bring a class and plants can be touched and inspected by budding gardeners.
Bringing the class outdoors
So many questions can be asked…
- What are the names of the plants?
- What are the colours and smells of
the different kinds of flowers? - Where has the plant come from?
…all while surrounded by nature.
Symbolic Planting
Plants from around the world brought together so children can discover the diversity of nature. The sense of inclusion given by an arrangement of plants shared by a child's family's origins is priceless. As Irish people we love our shamrock or even the odd 4 leaf clover. The English are partial to a beautiful red rose. The Italian Olive trees are famous for olive oil. The Spiky Thistle of Scotland and French lavender are part of the magic of the International garden. A Lebanese Cedar can give an exotic feel.
Holly and heather create an Irish theme while bamboo from China and Cordileone from Australia make up a truly international feel to the garden. As plants are so readily available from the local nursery there is nowhere on the planet that can not be represented within our International Garden. Every students ethnicity can be included in the garden.