 A beautiful garden has been created at a Bishops Stortford primary school thanks to a collaboration between parents, children, a timber company and their local builders merchant.
Pupils and teachers from Manuden Primary School in The Street, Manuden, were taken to see Chris Beardshaw’s DCSF (Department for Children, Schools and Families) Growing Schools Garden at last year’s Hampton Court Flower Show, care of Hoppings Softwood Products (Q-Deck) and the Harlow branch of Buildbase. All the building materials to construct Chris’s show garden had been supplied by Buildbase.
The Growing Schools Garden won a gold medal and the top prize Tudor Rose which is awarded to the best in show.
Chris had worked with 30 schools to produce the garden which demonstrated how teaching and learning can take place outside the classroom and how this benefits many other areas of the curriculum.
Headteacher at Manuden Primary, Linda Talbot, was so inspired by the concept that she put a proposal to the PFA to create a garden of their own. With unanimous support from everyone, the designs were realised and the garden is now complete.
Hoppings, who designed the modular scheme, supplied all the Q-Garden planed landscaping sleepers and Q-Grip slip resistant York decking free of charge. Buildbase’s newly opened Harlow branch provided the fencing, gravel, ground cover fabric, top soil and post-fix at cost.
With a working party in place the whole garden was constructed over two weekends. The school bought plants to get the garden underway this spring but next year children will grow plants from seed. It is also planned to keep the garden organic with natural pest control through complementary planting of flowers that deter unwelcome insects. Espalier fruit trees will be trained around the inside of the boundary fence.
The design includes disabled access ramps made from Hoppings’ Q-Grip slip resistant decking and the height of the raised beds is suitable for wheelchair users to garden with ease. The deck provides sure footing and the smooth finish Q-Garden planed sleepers provide a sturdy, comfortable structure for the children to sit on. Overall the garden should be easy to maintain with gravel on ground fabric to suppress weeds.
Headteacher Linda Talbot, said: “We love our new school garden, which has given us a safe, practical working space that is easily accessible for every child within school. It has really stimulated the children’s enthusiasm for gardening, building on from our allotment. We are looking forward to developing the raised beds within our school curriculum to create further learning opportunities throughout the school. We are already using the garden to develop our senses of touch, taste, smell and sight – our first crop of lettuce is almost ready for picking and will make a tasty addition to our school lunches!”
Tony Archer, manager at Harlow Buildbase said: “Buildbase has worked closely with Chris Beardshaw on his campaign to get schools into the gardening habit. We were so inspired by the concept that, with some design help from Hoppings, Buildbase is assembling a schools’ kit that includes all the construction materials they’ll need to set up their own vegetable garden.
“It uses Q-Grip decking, Q-Garden planed sleepers and other products from our range so that once schools have decided to build a garden they can buy the components from selected Buildbase branches across the country. Everyone at Manuden is so proud of their new garden and is excited to see it establish over the coming months. Over 30 schools have built their own gardens and we want to make it as easy as possible for others to follow.”
Chris Beardshaw’s award-winning garden has been moved to Birmingham Botanical Gardens as a long-term resource to train and advise teachers on exciting, new ideas and a realistic vision of what can be achieved in and beyond the school grounds.
The children at Manuden are typical of a national trend towards gardening in schools, which is gathering momentum. At this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show at the end of May ‘The edible playground’ garden won a gold medal and was named ‘Best courtyard garden’. The design demonstrated how fruit and vegetables can be grown by school children and represented by Edible Playgrounds initiative launched in Dorset a few years ago. |
